An enduring myth is that Americans suffered “oil shocks” in the 1970s. Supposedly they were an effect of OPEC exerting its power over the marketplace. If the confused are to be believed, OPEC's 1973 cessation of sales to the United States caused the price of oil to spike.
Such a view is riddled with holes. For one, the OPEC, or better yet, Arab oil embargo in no way decreased their oil exports to the U.S. Americans still consumed “Arab” oil through the purchase of same from suppliers not embargoed. The embargo was a symbolic gesture of no economic consequence.
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