Oil trading history is marked by phases of peaks and troughs. While oil is the lifeblood of modern civilization, the discovery of petroleum, or crude oil, is not a recent one. Crude oil was discovered more than four thousand years ago.

The first commercial oil well was drilled in Romania in 1857. In 1858, the first oil well in North America was drilled in Oil Springs, Ontario in Canada. By the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, major oil fields had been discovered in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Persia and the Dutch East Indies.

Milestones in Oil Trading History
With oil prices having spiked past the $150 per barrel mark, who would believe that oil trading history had witnessed crude oil at around $3 a barrel in 1972? In a couple of years, oil prices rose to $12 a barrel, following the Syrian attack on Israel and Egypt in early October 1973. This is when the regulatory authority of the market and oil prices was transferred from the US to the OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) nations. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, production in Iran was almost ceased due to the Iran/Iraq crisis. The oil market had to face the loss of two million barrels of oil a day. Oil prices doubled to $35 per barrel in 1992.

Oil trading history has since been dotted with regular ups and downs in prices. Prices declined and then rose again against the backdrop of strengthening economies across the globe. The sudden downturn in economic growth in Asia and the Far East exerted pressure on oil prices. The 2001 economic slowdown in the US and the 9/11 terrorist attack added to the pressure.

Spiraling demand from the US and the emerging economies (particularly China), a weak dollar, refinery problems and political tension are among the factors that led to oil prices crossing $150 a barrel in July 2008. The global slowdown resulted in the oil prices plummeting from record highs to $60 a barrel in May 2009.

Investors interested in trading oil should stay abreast of oil news. Their trading platform of choice should offer updates on oil movements.