[Alberta's Child]

The items you mentioned are certainly factors in this, but let's be brutally honest here. Over the last 40 years (if not longer), the single biggest factor in U.S. oil prices has been the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other major currencies.

With U.S. interest rates at or near historic lows, massive Federal budget deficits as far as the eye can see into the future, and Ben Bernanke already talking about a possible third round of Federal Reserve purchases of U.S. Treasury debt, I think it's a safe bet that the U.S. dollar isn't going to stop sliding into the toilet anytime soon.

[bestintxas]

“the single biggest factor in U.S. oil prices has been the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other major currencies.”

Don’t disagree.

But this country has the power to mitigate at least somewhat by offshore drilling and prioritizing the drilling and usage of our natural gas industry(which is what every other country on the face of the earth would do for wealth and jobs creation).

Instead, we get bogus schemes like ethanol and windfarming that will NEVER do anything but make a few libs feel happy and pad the pockets of ADM and GE.