Oil analysts have hoisted 2004 crude price forecasts by 10 per cent since January, reinforcing a growing consensus that higher energy prices are not going away any time soon, a poll showed on Tuesday. A survey of 18 analysts pegged the 2004 average price of benchmark Brent crude oil at $27.13 per barrel, up from a January forecast of $24.70 as low US inventories, runaway Chinese demand and Middle East political instability fuel heavy buying from speculative hedge funds. — (Reuters)
