The price of oil, adjusted for inflation, set a new record high on Monday when it passed the previous record set in the second oil shock in 1980. Demand for oil continues to exert an upward pressure on the oil price, despite the slowdown in the U.S. economy. "Gasoline accounts for about half of the total oil used in the United States, which consumes one in four barrels of oil produced worldwide each day. Most experts say the price of oil is not about to drop anytime soon. Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, said crude prices were unlikely to fall below $60 a barrel because the cost of developing new supplies, from sources like Canadian tar sands, is rising."
