STORY: Oil prices are likely to remain near $70 a barrel in 2025.That’s according to a Reuters poll out Tuesday with economists and analysts citing weak demand from China and rising global supplies.Most of the poll respondents expect the oil market to be in a surplus next year, with analysts from JPMorgan predicting that supply will outpace demand to the tune of 1.2 million barrels per day.OPEC+, which pumps about half the world’s oil, delayed production increases at its meeting earlier this month and extended supply cuts to account for the expected boost in global output.Markets are also bracing for substantial policy shifts, encompassing tariffs, deregulation, and tax amendments as Donald Trump is set to return to the White House on January 20th.However, some analysts noted that implementation of intensified sanctions on Iranian oil exports by the Trump administration could offer support to oil prices in the short term.Oil prices were on track to end 2024 with a second consecutive year of losses.Brent crude is down about three percent for the year near $74 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude is off about half of a percent to about $71 a barrel.In September, Brent futures closed below $70 a barrel for the first time in almost three years, as the impacts of a post-pandemic rebound in demand and price shocks from Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine began to fade.