How oil prices rose over the years
Key milestones in the dollar price of crude oil from below $2 in 1970 to Monday’s record $139.89.
- 1970: The official price of Saudi crude oil is fixed at $1.80 per barrel.
- 1974: The price passes $10 after the first oil shock, sparked by the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
- 1979: Oil passes $20 as the Islamic revolution in Iran causes a second oil shock.
- 1980: The price tops $30 for the first time and $39 in early 1981 at the height of the war between Iran and Iraq.
- Sept-Oct 1990: Oil prices sneak above $40 after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
- March 2003: On the eve of the US-led invasion of Iraq, the price stands at just over $37.
- Sept 2004: Oil tops $50 on concerns about the war in Iraq.
- June 2005: The barrel shoots above $60.
- Aug 2005: Prices rise above $70 when Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf of Mexico, damaging major offshore oil installations.
- Sept 12, 2007: Oil passes $80 as the market worries about the level of US stocks and increasing tension over Iran.
- Oct 18, 2007: The price breaches $90.
- Nov 21, 2007: A fresh record of $99.29 is reached as traders react to tight global energy supplies amid tensions between Turkey and Iraq. Prices fall back below $90 by the end of the month.
- Dec 28, 2007: Oil hits $97.79 after the murder of Pakistan’s opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and following a sixth successive weekly drop in US crude reserves.
- Jan 2, 2008: Oil briefly hits $100 levels on concerns at violence in key exporter Nigeria.
- March 13, 2008: Oil hits $111.
- April 22, 2008: Prices spike to $119 as OPEC sits tight despite calls for increased output and the dollar tumbles.
- May 5, 2008: Crude breaches $120, then $130 on May 21 and $135 on May 22 before falling back sharply on heavy profit-taking.
- June 16, 2008: Oil hits a record $139.89, threatening to breach the $140 level and promising more gains.
Source: INQUIRER.net
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