But administration officials view the oil market as a different kind of issue.
But just what makes the price move and how do the oil markets work?
The oil market is one in which everything usually seems either horrible or great.
It was also a year that politics returned to the oil market.
This is especially important for perceptions of the oil market.
The news from Baghdad had effects beyond the oil market too.
Panic takes a very specific form in the oil market.
But trying to influence the world's oil market is a different kind of challenge, experts say.
There are many reasons given for the increase in oil markets.
Despite differences in opinion about the future of the oil market, it is possible to find some common ground.