Oil glut to ease this year, IEA predicts

A global oil glut that has hit energy companies hard but meant cheap prices for consumers is set to ease by year's end as US shale production slides, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Thursday. Ahead of the highly anticipated Doha talks, the 29-nation IEA said the oil market, which for months has been depressed by a vast oversupply, was expected to practically balance out in the second half of the year. The IEA said in its monthly oil market report that it still anticipates "steady oil