Over the past week, oil prices have trended higher as concerns about escalating U.S.-Iran and Iran-Saudi standoffs have overshadowed bearish-side concerns about the U.S.-China trade war and slowing global economic growth. The rising tension in the Middle East and the critical oil tanker waterways in the region have had some analysts and investment banks return to talking about Brent Crude hitting US$80, US$90, or even US$100 a barrel, compared to the current level of around US$72 per barrel. JP Morgan, however, thinks that the return of the geopolitical risk premium in oil prices could be only for the short term, as U.S. shale production continues to grow, while global oil demand may falter amid uncertainties in the world’s economy. “It’s difficult to make a case why oil prices materially move up from here,” Scott Darling, head of Asia Pacific oil and gas research at JP Morgan, told CNBC on […]