Which statement best analyzes the combination of factors that kept global oil prices relatively low and stable for nearly a century, from the late 1800s to the early 1970s?

Primary Driver of Historical Oil Price Stability

The prolonged period of low and stable oil prices, from the late 1800s until the early 1970s, was primarily caused by a sustained lack of growth in global demand for oil.

Match each historical factor from the period between the late 1800s and early 1970s to its specific effect on the global oil market, which collectively led to an era of low and stable prices.

Mechanism of Historical Oil Price Stability

Impact of Technological Innovation on Historical Oil Prices

Arrange the following events in the correct causal sequence that explains how the global oil market achieved a long period of low and stable prices from the late 1800s to the early 1970s.

A historian argues that the primary reason for the long period of low and stable oil prices, from the late 1800s to the early 1970s, was a series of secret agreements among major oil-producing companies to keep prices low. Which of the following statements provides the strongest economic counter-argument to this claim?

The extended period of low and stable global oil prices, lasting from the late 1800s to the early 1970s, was primarily caused by a significant and sustained increase in ______, which resulted from technological advancements and lower costs of exploration and transportation.

Evaluating the Relative Importance of Factors in Oil Price Stability