The
1980s oil glut was a serious surplus of
crude oil caused by falling demand following the
1970s energy crisis. The world price of oil, which had peaked in 1980 at over
US$35 per barrel ($ per barrel today), fell in 1986 from $27 to below $10 ($ to $ today). The glut began in the early 1980s as a result of slowed economic activity in industrial countries (due to the crises of the 1970s, especially in
1973 and
1979) and the energy conservation spurred by high fuel prices. The
inflation-adjusted
real 2004 dollar value of oil fell from an average of $78.2 in 1981 to an average of $26.8 per barrel in 1986.