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Oil Price History and Analysis

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So currently (adjusted for inflation gas is about 2x what it "normally" is.)
The double rate is primarily due to the double cost of the oil the gas is made from.
Apparent (week/month to week/month) large swings in prices aren't as large as they seem when adjusted for inflation.

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The normal average budget for car fuel is something like 3% of income.  Even if doubled this would reach 6% still very maintainable for most.

It's been proposed that the rising price in oil is investors using commodity markets to compensate for falling currencies.