Making Sense Of The Oil Mess

“There is nothing, in other words, to make you think that prices are going up unless somehow you believe the stuff is scarce.”

American drivers in some areas are seeing pumps run dry. Others are forking over more than $3 per gallon of gasoline

Amid this confusing fog of numbers and statistics, a couple of simple facts stand out: Oil stockpiles in the U.S. are hovering at an eight-year high and the post-Katrina price shock is long gone. So why are gasoline prices skyrocketing?