Oil: The rise and fall . . . and rise

…Demand for crude, however, is considerably less volatile than the price. Even as the rally unfolded this spring, commentators often repeated the view that higher prices made no sense because use of the fuel had collapsed. But “collapsed” doesn

Wall Street, bullish oil traders and the Obama administration all are betting that the U.S. economy will look better in the second half than in the first half, of course. In its mid-May report, the Energy Department assumes the beginnings of a recovery in consumption. It forecasts only a slight pullback in U.S. oil use this year, to 18.9 million barrels a day from 19.4 million in 2008,and an uptick in 2010.

Even if U.S. oil demand doesn’t rebound — and greener cars, biofuels and conservation measures boost the chance that it won’t — the action is in the developing world. Masses continue to leave the land for the cities, where they become bona fide fossil fuel consumers. Fortunately or unfortunately, entrepreneurs and governments are trying to make that status affordable for them. Tata Motors, for its part, intends to put India