oil prices up on financial demand, not consumer demand
We've got a weird situation going on with oil now. What's driven up the prices lately are not consumer consumption, but investor consumption. This is the same thing that drives up the price of gold (and you thought it was brought on by spending sprees amongst the gangsta rappers). How do you lower the price of gold? By buying fewer necklaces and earrings? Well, no. And unfortunately cutting back on your petroleum consumption isn't going to bring it's prices down either. Oil has moved from mere commodity to investment medium. I suppose at some point, as these cycles tend to go, the bottom will drop out, and we'll have yet another "crisis" on our hands - trillions of dollars of investment portfolios wiped out. But hey, gas will be relatively cheap again. So for now, the rich profit and the poor hurt, but the tables will probably turn in the next two to three years.