{
  "id": 6420367,
  "title": "A history of oil price swings this century",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/a-history-of-oil-price-swings-this-century-6420367",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-09T12:05:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/09/09/a-history-of-oil-price-swings-this-century"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Oil prices have been subject to significant fluctuations since the beginning of the Iran conflict at the end of February. The international benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, reached over $100 a barrel on Wednesday following a recent escalation in the US-Iran war. This war has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for nearly 20% of the global oil transportation. Brent hit a peak of $126.41 a barrel at the end of April, while WTI, the main US contract, peaked at $119.48 a barrel in early March.\n\nIn June, hopes of de-escalation, weaker demand from China, and the release of strategic oil reserves led prices to decline. Prices fell below pre-war levels when Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict. However, recent US-Iran strikes across the region have caused Brent to once again surpass $100, with WTI hovering around $95 a barrel.\n\nIn 2022, Russia's invasion of Ukraine led crude futures to surpass $100 shortly after the invasion. Prices approached their 2008 highs, with Brent reaching $139.13 a barrel and WTI reaching $130.50. Western sanctions against Russia and increased demand after the Covid-19 pandemic kept prices above $100 throughout the year. However, prices fell back due to high supplies.\n\nIn 2020, oil prices briefly turned negative following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to closures in offices, factories, and grounded planes worldwide. Limited storage facilities and a Saudi-Russia price war further contributed to the market's decline. WTI dropped to minus $40.32, meaning producers had to pay buyers to take the oil off their hands, while Brent reached a record low of $15.98.\n\nIn 2012, after falling under $90 due to a eurozone economic crisis, oil prices rose above $100 after Western powers imposed sanctions on Iran aimed at halting its nuclear program. Wider Middle East tensions, particularly the Syria conflict, kept prices continuously above $100 until 2014, before they fell under $50 at the start of the following year due to American shale oil flooding the market.\n\nIn 2011, Brent surged to $127 in March following unrest in the oil-producing Middle East and North Africa region. The market rose after the Arab Spring uprisings toppled the long-standing leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen, as well as the unrest in Libya.",
  "summary": "Crude oil has seen dramatic swings since 2000, from nearly US$150 a barrel in 2008 to below zero during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "A history of oil price swings this century",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/a-history-of-oil-price-swings-this-century",
        "published": "2026-09-09T12:05:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}