This article is about the causes and analysis of the relatively high oil prices of the 2000s. For a chronology of oil prices during this time, see World oil market chronology from 2003.
Further information: Energy crisis
2000s oil crisis
Medium term crude oil prices Jan. 2003 – Nov. 2008, (not adjusted for inflation)
Date
2003 (2003)–2008 (2008)
Also known as
Third oil crisis
Part of a series on the
Great Recession
Major aspects
Subprime mortgage crisis
2000s energy crisis
2000s United States housing bubble
2000s United States housing market correction
2007–2008 financial crisis
2008–2010 automotive industry crisis
Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
European debt crisis
Causes
Causes of the European debt crisis
Causes of the 2000s United States housing bubble
Credit rating agencies and the subprime crisis
Government policies and the subprime mortgage crisis
Summit meetings
34th G8 summit (July 2008)
G-20 Washington summit (November 2008)
APEC Peru (November 2008)
China–Japan–South Korea trilateral summit (December 2008)
G-20 London Summit (April 2009)
Government response and policy proposals
2008 European Union stimulus plan
2008–2009 Keynesian resurgence
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008
Chinese economic stimulus program
Economic Stimulus Act of 2008
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
Federal Reserve responses to the subprime crisis
Government intervention during the subprime mortgage crisis
Green New Deal
Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
National fiscal policy response to the Great Recession
Regulatory responses to the subprime crisis
Subprime mortgage crisis solutions debate
Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility
Troubled Asset Relief Program
Business failures
American International Group
Chrysler
Citigroup
Fannie Mae
Freddie Mac
General Motors
Lehman Brothers
Royal Bank of Scotland Group
UBS
Regions
Africa
Americas
South America
United States
Asia
Europe
Oceania
Timeline
v
t
e
Crude oil prices to gas pricesHenry Hub natural gas prices
From the mid-1980s to September 2003, the inflation-adjusted price of a barrel of crude oil on NYMEX was generally under US$25/barrel in 2008 dollars. During 2003, the price rose above $30, reached $60 by 11 August 2005, and peaked at $147.30 in July 2008.[1] Commentators attributed these price increases to many factors, including Middle East tension, soaring demand from China,[2] the falling value of the U.S. dollar, reports showing a decline in petroleum reserves,[3][4] worries over peak oil,[5] and financial speculation.[6]
For a time, geopolitical events and natural disasters had strong short-term effects on oil prices, such as North Korean missile tests,[7] the 2006 conflict between Israel and Lebanon,[8] worries over Iranian nuclear plans in 2006,[9] Hurricane Katrina,[10] and various other factors.[11] By 2008, such pressures appeared to have an insignificant impact on oil prices given the onset of the global recession.[12] The recession caused demand for energy to shrink in late 2008, with oil prices collapsing from the July 2008 high of $147 to a December 2008 low of $32.[13] However, it has been disputed that the laws of supply and demand of oil could have been responsible for an almost 80% drop in the oil price within a six-month period.[14] Oil prices stabilized by August 2009 and generally remained in a broad trading range between $70 and $120 through November 2014,[15] before returning to 2003 pre-crisis levels by early 2016, as US production increased dramatically. The United States went on to become the largest oil producer by 2018.[16]
^"Crude Oil EmiNY Weekly Commodity Futures Price Chart: NYMEX". tfc-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
^Cite error: The named reference bbc200 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"US Markets-Oil". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
^
"Record oil price sets the scene for $200 next year". AME. 6 July 2006. Archived from the original on 14 December 2007. Retrieved 29 November 2007.
^
"Peak Oil News Clearinghouse". EnergyBulletin.net. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
^"The Hike in Oil Prices: Speculation – But Not Manipulation". Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
^
"Missile tension sends oil surging". CNN. Archived from the original on 24 December 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
^
"Oil hits $100 barrel". BBC News. 2 January 2008. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
^
"Iran nuclear fears fuel oil price". BBC News. 6 February 2006. Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
^"We're sorry, that page can't be found" (PDF). fpc.state.gov. 6 February 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
^
Gross, Daniel (5 January 2008). "Gas Bubble: Oil is at $100 per barrel. Get used to it". Slate. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
^"Oil Prices Fall As Gustav Hits". Sky News. 2 September 2008. Archived from the original on 22 June 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
^
Tuttle, Robert; Galal, Ola (10 May 2010). "Oil Ministers See Demand Rising, Price May Exceed $85". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
^"Leaked Documents Reveal Major Speculators Behind 2008 Oil Price Shock: Hedge Funds, Koch, Big Banks, Oil Companies". Retrieved 25 August 2018.
^"Europe Brent Crude Oil Spot Price FOB (DOE)". Quandl. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
^"The United States is now the largest global crude oil producer - Today in Energy". U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
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