super spike

n.

An extremely rapid or unprecedented rise in the price of a commodity, particularly oil. Also: super-spike.

Example Citations:

Arjun N. Murti remembers the pain of the oil shocks of the 1970s. But he is bracing for something far worse now: He foresees a 'super spike' — a price surge that will soon drive crude oil to $200 a barrel.

—Louise Story, "An Oracle of Oil," The New York Times, May 21, 2008

A new phrase has crept into the lexicon of oil analysts: 'the super spike' — an unprecedented hike in oil prices that dwarfs anything before it. For a world teetering on the edge of recession, such a prospect borders on the apocalyptic. For beleaguered British motorists, who have seen the price of petrol rise by almost a quarter over the past 12 months, it is the stuff of nightmares. ...

The Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs predicts a $200-a-barrel super spike is a very real possibility in the near future.

—Amie Doward et al., "£100 to fill up the tank? Just get used to the idea," The Guardian (London), June 15, 2008

Earliest Citation:

But Thursday's super-spike in petroleum contract prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and fears of reformulated gasoline supply disruptions from Venezuela — should oil workers there strike as threatened — put some blenders and traders in the mood to think about buying MTBE again and prompted at least one to buy.

—Rose Marton, "US MTBE: Prices Move Higher On November Demand," Dow Jones Energy Service, October 12, 2000

Related Words:

cappuccino economy

echo bubble

melt-up

sucker rally

Categories:

Economics

Money