Has the "Oil Bubble" popped?

Since the price of oil has finally broken to the downside, I've seen a lot of talk of how the "oil bubble" has finally popped.

What's interesting to me is the exact opposite occured when the stock market initially broke back in 2000, and when housing prices initially broke more recently. In both of those cases, the talk was that there was nothing to worry about...After all, prices fall occaisionally...If anything, they were buying opportunities.

I remember speaking to several real estate agents and telling them that the party was coming to an end. They definitely did not believe me...and with all of the commissions coming in, I understood why. The Austrian Business Cycle Theory was spot on though, and the party was indeed over.

Now whether or not we've seen the top in oil, I don't know....but I seriously doubt it.

To begin with, I don't even think there has been an "oil bubble." The price rise seems pretty orderly to me...and I've yet to hear my Aunt or next door neighbor tell me that they're buying oil futures.

Also, and this is probably the most important factor, the Fed's monetary policy signals more monetary inflation ahead. U.S. foreign policy also indicates that oil consumption by the U.S. military will continue. New supplies of oil don't seem to be on the horizon. And finally, I highly doubt that when an actual top occurs, there will be so many proclaimations of how the bubble has popped...It doesn't seem to work that way. The sentiment will most likely be the opposite...that the price of oil will never stop going up...ever!

So has the "bubble" burst? I guess we'll find out.