In real terms, prices surpassed their previous peak, reached during the 1979-1980 oil shock.

The possibility of a supply-side oil shock and a disorderly adjustment of global imbalances, among others, cannot be ignored.

Second, both inflation and inflationary expectations are lower worldwide, compared with expectations at the time of the previous oil shocks.

We need to think of ways and means, such as early warning mechanisms, to help countries cope with oil shocks.

Indeed, ECB officials are starting to worry aloud about therise in inflation due to the oil shock.

This was the first such occurrence since the mid-1970s, when it had followed the universal oil shock of late 1973.

The fall in copper prices on the world market and the oil shocks experienced in the mid-1970s, left the economy struggling.

Experiences of economic growth among countries since the second oil shock in 1979 and the sudden increase in world interest rates around 1980 have varied considerably.

The highest peak registered to date was in 1974, which was preceded by a rise in non-fuel commodity prices accompanied by the oil shock.

Some analysts have drawn a parallel between the current situation and the oil shock in the early 1970s and the subsequent collapse of the world economy.