The cost of energy (crude oil and natural gas mostly) kept increasing through 2008 and then sharply decreased in the winter of 2008. Then, the price of oil per barrel was on an uptrend from 2010 to 2014. Then, prices fell again, and has fluctuated between $30 to $80 per barrel from 2016 to the present. Energy is essential to the economy as a whole and to every individual. Why do prices fluctuate so much? Whom do you blame (if anyone)? What would make prices to go down? Give me your thoughts based on the supply and demand for oil. Please refer to the Oil Prices Chart Link for the market price of oil over the past 10 years