but all that has happened is that a barrel is back where it was for most of 2011. As the monthly averages below show, the hump up in the first quarter and the plunge down in the second quarter canceled each other out and the price is now back where it started. But, at more than $100 a barrel, the price remains high and the Islamic Republic isn’t being squeezed to death by sanctions even after sales have been cut in half.
