Most of us think of supply and demand in rather general terms. Typically, whether we’re at the supermarket, home improvement center or clothing store, we can readily find what we want. We also understand that some products can be limited in supply — or more subject to market conditions such as bad weather or work disruptions — so we have to pay more for them. These price fluctuations are often temporary. For instance, one week a head of cauliflower might be 99 cents while the next week, a hailstorm’s devastation in a cauliflower-growing region might double that price.

The same simple economic forces of supply and demand are at work every day in the world market for oil and natural gas. A finite supply is available each day to hundreds of thousands of buyers and sellers who compete with one another to secure enough to meet their customers’ demands.

Most of the factors that can drive oil and natural gas prices higher have occurred over several years. Strong economic growth in the United States and the world — particularly in Asia — has triggered rising demand while at the same time there have been impediments to developing available oil and domestic natural gas, as well as supply disruptions caused by hurricanes and other events.

Daily fuel prices reflect numerous long-term challenges. For instance, politicians have talked about energy independence for more than 30 years, but our nation imports twice as much oil as it did in the 1970s. America’s reliance on foreign oil has grown to 60 percent and continues to rise. However, the undiscovered oil off our coasts could replace current levels of Persian Gulf imports for almost 60 years – perhaps even longer.