The Importance of the Embargo in the Arabic Countries Research Paper

The Importance of the Embargo in the Arabic Countries - Research Paper Example During the embargo, the countries mainly Arabic countries made the unilateral decision to hike the prices and cause a disruption in the world oil prices. The price per barrel at the period between 1960 and 1971 was at $1.75. By mid-1973, the price had risen to $3.29 a barrel, and this was after negotiations. After the conflict had begun, the OPEC members raised the price to $5.12 a barrel. Iran auctioned its oil to the highest bidder at $17 a barrel. By the early months of 1974, the price was at $ 11.25. Since then, the prices remained on a steady rise. The Arabic countries who were the majority in the OPEC wanted to make the US bow down and cease supporting Israel. This also led to more conflicts and the US knew it was at a very bad position. The US was at a decline in its oil production, worsening the situation at hand. The process of dealing with the shortage also led to supplies that are more limited, and the price increase was beyond what the US could have done to limit it. Anot her problem was America’s unilateral decision of removing itself from the Bretton Woods Accord where the gold exchange standard was the main method of exchange. The price of gold was pegged on the value of the dollar and the fact that the US was removing itself from this accord was making it difficult to satisfy the market demands. The problem was that they had to make better choices and the depreciating value of the prices was not ideal for society. Ideally, the growing nature of the disgruntled attributes was making things worse and the countries were being fed up by the inability to make independent decisions without having to liaise with the US.