Oil Collapse of 1986 Shows Rebound Could Be Years Away | Mark Shenk

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Credit: BloombergJan. 13, 2015 (Bloomberg) -- The last time excess supply caused a plunge in oil, it took almost five years for prices to recover.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows how West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil benchmark, tumbled 69 percent from $31.82 a barrel in November 1985 to $9.75 in April 1986 when Saudi Arabia, tiring of cutting output to support prices, flooded the market. Prices didn’t claw back the losses until 1990. Oil has dropped 57 percent since June and OPEC members say they’re willing to let prices sink further.

Surging prices in the 1970s led to the development of the North Sea and Alaska oil fields. OPEC members also increased capacity, leaving the Saudis to trim output when demand softened.