Highlights North Sea Brent crude oil prices averaged $64/barrel (b) in May, a $5/b increase from April and the highest monthly average of 2015. Despite estimated global inventories increasing by more than 2 million barrels per day (b/d) for the third consecutive month, several factors contributed to higher prices in May, including continued signals 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 Brent crude oil prices will average $61/b in 2015 and $67/b in 2016. The 2016 price forecast is $3/b lower than in last month’s STEO. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices in both 2015 and 2016 are expected to average $5/b less than the Brent price. The current values of futures and options contracts for December 2015 delivery suggest ( Market Prices […]