WTI prices hit a cyclical peak at $76 per barrel in early October 2018, before falling by nearly half by the end of the year. Oil prices are starting to creep back up from the late-December low point, but very few analysts expect prices to return to the earlier highs. The outlook for oil prices in 2019 is highly uncertain, but the effects of low prices are starting to wear down the U.S. shale industry. Some leading indicators suggest that drilling activity has already started to slow, while other signs indicate that oil executives could further rein in their ambitions for 2019 if prices fail to rebound from current ... (full story)