Bank of America sees $50 (then $90) oil as Opec dies

``The free market will now set the global cost of oil, leading to a new era of wild price swings and disorderly trading that benefits only the Mid-East petro-states with deepest pockets such as Saudi Arabia... The bank said in its year-end report that at least 15pc of US shale producers are losing money at current prices, and more than half will be under water if US crude falls below $55... It will take six months or so to whittle away the 1m barrels a day of excess oil on the market -- with US crude falling to $50 - given that supply and demand are both "inelastic" in the short-run. That will create the beginnings of the next shortage. "We expect a pretty sharp rebound to the high $80s or even $90 in the second half of next year," said Sabine Schels, the bank's energy expert.''