slowsmile

That's true, but oil is tied to the US dollar, and since January the dollar has devalued by over 10%. So to the £ and to the Euro the price of a barrel is really only about $58.50. Still high, but not that bad. But oil is predicted to go up to about $182 before it can be controlled. This has been fairly widely reported (see http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net). And when oil goes up to $182 a barrel, I think there will be large economic repercussions.

I don't know all the answers, but here is a link which is fairly easy ro read, and contains the views of many respected experts :

http://www.hubbertpeak.com/

It makes interesting and easy reading.