1973 oil shock
The abrupt rise in oil prices after the Arab exporters' embargo, which struck importing economies.
How to read the number
It demonstrated how a supply shock differs from a demand shock: prices rose while production fell, and the usual support for demand only accelerated inflation.
When the metric lies
The episode is read as proof that expensive oil is bad for markets in general — for exporting countries and their securities it meant the exact opposite.
Also known as: oil embargo