[Excerpt] Throughout the first half of 2014, import petroleum prices rose 10.7 percent following a near 2-year low at the end of 2013. The 6- month advance returned import prices to levels last seen at the beginning of 2012. The second half of 2014 was a much different story. Beginning in July, prices began to fall, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) import crude petroleum index dropping 51.7 percent between June 2014 and January 2015. A confluence of factors exerted downward pressure on petroleum prices, leading to the most dramatic drop in petroleum prices since the sharp drop in prices at the end of 2008. This issue of Beyond the Numbers examines the price trends in import petroleum prices leading up to the plunge in prices in 2014. The article uses data from the BLS International Prices Program (IPP) and Energy Information Administration (EIA).