Highlights North Sea Brent crude oil prices averaged $60/barrel (b) in April, a $4/b increase from March and the highest monthly average of 2015. Despite increasing global inventories, several factors contributed to higher prices in April, including indications of higher global oil demand growth, expectations for declining U.S. tight oil production in the coming months, and the growing risk of unplanned supply outages in the Middle East and North Africa. EIA forecasts that Brent crude oil prices will average $61/b in 2015 and $70/b in 2016, $1/b higher and $5/b lower than in last month’s STEO, respectively. Average WTI prices in 2015 and 2016 are expected to be $6/b and $5/b below Brent, respectively. The current values of futures and options contracts for December 2015 delivery suggest ( Market Prices and Uncertainty Report ) the market’s expectations (at the 95% confidence interval) for WTI prices in that month range […]