Dynamics of the cost of oil: from the 1990's to the present

The dynamics of the cost of oil is among the quantities that affect many economic processes and the political situation in the world. The increase in the cost of a barrel of Brent marker oil has little effect on demand, since the resource is one of the main energy sources and can not be replaced by analogues in the main areas of use.

The dynamics of the cost of oil in the period from the 90's to "zero"

In the last decade of the twentieth century, the cost of energy remained stable and kept at about eighteen dollars per barrel. Serious jumps in the price were observed only in 1990 and 1998.

In the summer and autumn of 1990, as a result of Iraq's military invasion of Kuwait, the cost of oil rose by twenty-six dollars: from fifteen to forty-one monetary units per barrel. After the operation "Desert Storm", by February 1991, the price stabilized and was established at the level of seventeen to eighteen dollars.

Another fluctuation in value was noted during the Asian financial crisis. Then, in 1998, the price fell to ten dollars, and after a short period of stabilization, it went down even lower. The minimum value for the period under review was reached on December 10, 1998 and amounted to nine dollars and ten cents.

The increase in the cost of energy resources in the early 2000s

In the spring of 1999, the cost of oil stabilized. A slight increase in the price (two dollars) was noted after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. Then the cost was below eighteen dollars. Since 2002, a continuous and almost uninterrupted price growth for a barrel of energy resources began, which was explained by a list of factors:

• The war in Iraq;
• Reduction in production in the UK, Mexico, Indonesia;
• Increase in resource consumption;
• Depletion of product stocks in the Gulf countries.

At the end of February 2008, the cost of oil exceeded the $ 100 per barrel mark for the first time. Since then, the market has reacted with a resource price increase for each instability in the Middle East. So, amid rumors that Israel is preparing to strike from the air over Iran, the cost of oil has risen by a record ten dollars a day.

In July 2008, the cost of oil per barrel (the dynamics reflects a surge in peaks) reached a historic high, amounting to $ 143 and 95 cents.

The global financial crisis of 2008 and further stabilization

The economic crisis of 2008 caused the collapse of oil prices. The cost of Brent was thirty-three dollars. Soon the price of oil began to gradually stabilize, finally leveling off by 2010. Against the backdrop of the political crisis in Libya, another price increase began. The cost of oil exceeded one hundred dollars. The price increase was restrained by the compensation of supplies from Libya by US strategic reserves.

Prerequisites for a decline in value and a collapse in December 2014 - January 2015.

After stabilizing the price of energy, the dynamics of the cost of oil was assessed by many experts negatively. The reasons for this were:

• A prolonged drop in demand for fuel in China and the United States;
• Excess supply in the market: significant production in the United States and Saudi Arabia, resumption of supplies from Libya;
• Dumping prices from Iran and Saudi Arabia;
• Unprepared OPEC to come to a common decision about the reduction of resource extraction.

In 2014, the cost of oil fell by 51% compared with the same indicator of the previous reporting period. The minimum price of energy resources in this period was marked on January 13, 2015 and amounted to forty-five dollars per barrel. The dynamics of oil prices stabilized just a month, but by December 4, 2015, the price again decreased. This time the cost of the resource fell below thirty-five dollars.