SAN FRANCISCO — Crude-oil supplies will be tighter in coming years, with a ‘supply crunch’ after 2010 as OPEC’s spare production capacity evaporates, the International Energy Agency predicted Monday. Supplies will tighten because economic growth will drive up demand and offset significant increases in oil-refining capacity, the IEA said, according to media reports citing the agency’s annual medium-term forecast. The IEA, which monitors energy markets for the world’s 26 most-advanced economies, doesn’t forecast oil prices, but its conclusions imply consumers should expect continued upward pressure on energy costs, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition, See Wall Street Journal story (subscription required). ‘Oil and gas price pressures look set to remain in the coming years,’ the IEA reported, according to the Journal. ‘Slower-than-expected (gross-domestic-product) growth may provide a breathing space, but it is abundantly clear that if the path of demand doesn’t change on its own, it may well be driven to change by higher prices.’. The report comes as crude oil for August delivery settled Monday at $72.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. See futures movers That price is close to the $77.03 nominal high reached nearly a year ago […]