Brent crude oil prices continue to tumble and are not expected to recover in 2015. Although OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) decided in its most recent meeting on 27 November to maintain oil production at 30 million barrels a day, as it had already decided to do in December 2011, the price of Brent crude continued to fall sharply. This has fallen by almost $10 over the past two weeks, despite the fact that it had already fallen by 35% since its mid-June peak, which means that it has fallen by a total of 44% since June. Global economic prospects remain gloomy and production is expected to remain higher than supply next year, according to experts, who are now forecasting prices for Brent crude to be around $65-77 on average in 2015 or $82.5. Some commentators believe that it might even fall to $50 the barrel. Chinese demand, in particular, has not resumed to the extent that OPEC has revised its global demand forecasts, for its own production, to 28.9 million barrels a day, its lowest level for the past 12 years. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has slightly revised its forecasts for US production but this is not expected to be below 9.3 million barrels a day, its highest level since 1972. (IL)