The Energy Department increased its price forecasts for West Texas Intermediate crude for 2014, narrowing the U.S. benchmark’s discount to Brent. WTI will average $98.67 a barrel this year, the Energy Information Administration , the Energy Department’s statistical arm, said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook . That’s up from May’s estimate of $96.59. Brent, the North Sea-based grade, will reach $107.82, up from $106.26. WTI is estimated to trade at a discount of $9.15 to Brent, down from $9.67 in May. The WTI-Brent spread has averaged $6.66 in the second quarter, according to contracts traded on the London-based ICE Futures Europe, down from $9.41 in the January-March period. The gap narrowed as inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma , the delivery point for WTI futures, decreased and as refineries increased operating rates. The differential will widen to $11 next year, the EIA said. “We raised the Brent price forecast and […]