
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
| Price Change Event | Price Change Time Frame | Cause | Nominal Price Change |
| First Oil Shock | October 1973 to March 1974 | Yom Kippur War / OPEC oil embargo | From $4.31 to $10.11 (+134.5%) |
| Second Oil Shock | April 1979 to July 1980 | Iranian revolution (1978) / Iran-Iraq war (1980) | From $15.85 to $39.50 (+149.2%) |
| Oil counter shock (A) | November 1985 to July 1986 | OPEC oversupply / Lower demand | From $30.81 to $11.57 (-62.4%) |
| First Gulf War (1) | July 1990 to November 1990 | Iraqi invasion of Kuwait | From $18.63 to $32.30 (+73.4%) |
| Asian Financial Crisis (B) | January 1997 to December 1998 | Debt defaults / Non-USD currency devaluations / Reduced demand | From $25.17 to $11.28 (-55.1%) |
| "Asian Demand Contagion" (2) | January 1999 to September 2000 | Rising demand / OPEC output cutbacks | From $11.28 to $33.88 (+200.3%) |
| "September 11 Effect" (C) | August 2001 to December 2001 | Oversupply / American recession | From $27.47 to $19.33 (-29.6%) |
| Third Oil Shock | December 2003 to June 2008 | Rising demand / Monetary debasement / Speculation | From $32.15 to $133.95 (+316.6%) |
| Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 (D) | July 2008 to February 2009 | Collapse of asset bubbles / Demand destruction / Global recession | From $133.95 to $39.16 (-70.7%) |