On This Day…

Arab Oil Embargo

March 18, 1974

The Arab Oil Embargo on the U.S. is ended. It had started the previous October when OAPEC (Arab members of OPEC plus Egypt and Syria) declared an oil embargo on the U.S., Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, and the U.K. for supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The embargo targeted the U.S. for resupplying the Israeli military during the war. During the embargo, the price of oil had risen nearly 400%, from US$3 per barrel to nearly $12.