Just a couple of quick addendums here...
First, Roger's very interesting and thorough summary of the reasons for the increase in the price of petrol/gas and crude oil didn't include one very significant cause: the recent lower value of the US dollar. Oil is priced internationally in dollars. When the dollar is worth less on the world currency market, the oil-producing countries get a lot less money in real terms for the oil they produce... so they increase the price.
And, no, prices will not go down to their former level at the pump when this ends... they never do. :p
Second, although Lynn's quite right that the US pays by far the lowest price per gallon, the international comparisons posted should be treated with a little bit of caution unless you know exactly which gallon measurement people are using. An Imperial gallon contains exactly a quarter as much again as an American gallon. (A North American pint contains 16 fluid ounces, while an Imperial pint - the measurement used in just about every other non-metric country - contains 20 fluid ounces. There are still 8 pints to the gallon, but when the pint is smaller the gallon will also be smaller
).
Wendy
(who has now got used to paying less than half what she used to pay to fill up her tank!
)
