Due to the Asian financial crisis, declining demand and the untimely increase in the output of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the price of Brent crude oil dropped from $24.53 per barrel in June 1997 to the lowest price of $9.25 per barrel in February 1998. Then it rebounded from March 1999 and climbed all the way. In August 2000, it exceeded $30/barrel, and on September 7, 2000, it reached 37.8 1 dollar/barrel, which tripled in just 18 months, setting a new high for oil prices since the Gulf War. After 2003, oil prices kept rising, and finally reached a record high of nearly 150 USD/barrel in July 2008. Five months later, it dramatically fell below 40 USD at the end of 2008.