In an article about strange happenings in Alaska, the NYT notes the sharp fluctuations in oil prices over the last year, after telling readers: "for years, the price of oil has been relatively stable." That sure has not been the case in the lower 48. Oil prices fell to under $15 a barrel back in 1998. They then hovered in the low-mid twenties range at the start of the decade before nearly doubling to more than $40 a barrel following the Iraq War. Prices then continued to rise to $70 a barrel by 2007 before going into the stratosphere in 2008, when they crashed along with the economy. If there is any stability in this picture, it is hard to find.
--Dean Baker
