Oil is traded in free markets and like everything else, its price is driven up and down by speculators in addition to real supply/demand. Like any hot asset, speculators add a premium to the fair price determined by supply/demand, if price of asset keeps going up. On the demand side, China has been the main driver of growth in Oil demand and not the US. The growth in US oil consumption has been relatively flat over last 3 years though oil prices have doubled in last 3 years.
You seem to underestimate the effect money has in both directions on people’s habits. It can spoil and it can also discipline better than anything else. Have you noticed the number of people who car pool to work has increased lot and that demand of hybrid vehicles has gone through the roof whereas demand/price of used SUVs has gone down.
The main reason I see higher oil prices is not in demand but on the supply side problems. I believe in short term oil will hit some inflection point like $100 and then take a tumble. In the long term though, it will keep rising in price due to supply side concerns.
