Singapore — Oil prices firmed on Thursday, with Brent crude creeping ever closer to $80 a barrel, a level it has not seen since November 2014, as supplies tighten while demand remains strong. Brent crude futures were at $79.36 a barrel at 4.51am GMT, up 8c from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $71.71 a barrel, up 22c or 0.3% from their last settlement. ANZ bank said on Thursday that Brent was "now threatening to break through $80 a barrel … (as) geopolitical risks continue to support prices, (and) an unexpected fall in inventories in the US got investors excited yesterday". US crude inventories dropped by 1.4-million barrels in the week to May 11, to 432.34-million barrels. ANZ said the falling US inventories were "raising concern [about] tight markets heading into the US driving season", during which demand typically rises. Looking beyond seasonal changes, US bank Morgan Stanley said it had raised its Brent price forecast to $90 a barrel by 2...
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