The cost of oil
Oil was over $80 a barrel not that long ago, and OPEC would love to see it there again. As the OPEC leadership is fond of saying, when it comes to oil the demand sets the price. And as much as we hate to admit it, they are right. This is the real truth behind capitalism - forget all the rhetoric about how the competition in capitalism keeps prices down, that has little to do with the way it actual works in the free market. What is far closer to the truth is that the market - including the oil market driven primarily by OPEC - will find out how much people are willing to pay and that sets the price. Even at the current price of about $60 a barrel, do you know what the profit percentage is for OPEC? It's about 2,900%. It costs OPEC about $2 to produce a barrel of oil, according to 60 minutes.
So the next time you think about complaining about high gas prices at the pump, just remember that it is free-market capitalism at it's absolute finest. The cost of production means nothing, it's all about how much people will put up with paying.