Strong global oil demand growth, quickly falling inventories, and geopolitical issues from Iran to Venezuela could push oil prices to as high as $100 a barrel in 2019, Bank of America Merrill Lynch says. Brent Crude is expected to average $70 a barrel this year and $75 in 2019, BofA’s commodity strategists led by Francisco Blanch said in a note, as carried by Business Insider. At 12:27 p.m. EDT on Thursday, oil prices were flat on the day, with Brent Crude at $77.17 and WTI Crude at $71.14. “We also introduce a 2Q $90/bbl Brent price target for 2019 and see a risk of $100/bbl oil next year, although we are concerned that these market dynamics could unfold over a shorter timeframe,” Blanch wrote in the note. This year demand growth is expected at 1.5 million bpd, BofA says, and revised up its 2019 demand growth by 100,000 bpd […]