The crude-oil market’s seen its biggest price swings in fourteen years, with a terrorist bombing in one of the world’s biggest capital cities and a hurricane closing in on the U.S. Gulf Coast with its many refineries. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources tracks fuel prices, and the DNR’s Tammy Foster says it’s a volatile market. Gas prices went up a little, she says, but it’s not expected to continue. Still, she says attacks like the London bombings “can cause the market to go any which way.” Prices briefly dropped after the bombing, apparently on speculation that business development — and fuel consumption — would slow down. On world markets, crude oil that had seen a drop of four dollars a barrel recovered to close last (Thursday) night at just under 61 dollars a barrel. Foster says the federal Department of Energy’s analyzed why prices are swinging so wildly. The supply is higher than it’s been in a long time, she says, but the demand’s also higher than it’s ever been. Offsetting high supply, the high demand’s causing prices to fluctuate. Most of the factors affecting fuel price are seasonal or temporary ones. We’re in the peak driving season of summer right now, and coupled with storms down south and now the attacks in London, she says prices are volatile. “We need to just, I think, sit tight and make sure our automobiles are in good shape, our tires are inflated et cetera, and just see what happens.”
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