Reality returned to the oil market this week.
Oil has fallen 7 percent since last Friday, when the price briefly topped $100 for the first time in 4 months. The sharp drop was expected and overdue, many analysts say.
Traders had driven oil prices up by 30 percent since late June in anticipation of new measures from the world’s central banks to boost economic growth. This week they woke up to some cold hard facts: There’s no easy fix for the global economy, demand for oil is slowing and there’s plenty of supply.


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