Petroleum prices have drifted down toward $70 a barrel in recent days from a record high last month, as the summer driving season comes to a close. Does this mean crude oil could fall to as low as $60 a barrel? Or is it more likely to reverse course and climb toward $80? The price of gasoline at the pump is largely determined by the price of petroleum in the global market place, and a variety of difficult-to-predict factors, only starting with global demand, influences oil's trading value. U.S. demand for oil often weakens in early autumn as the vacation season ends and the winter heating oil season has yet to begin. But it also is hurricane season, which is a significant wild card.
