Speculative pressures are likely to have been at work, influencing the decisions of OPEC and many others. Although changes in market psychology are difficult to understand, the broad concerns that underlie such episodes of irrational exuberance are almost always clear.
那么，为什么剔除了通胀因素之后的实际石油价格直到1986年还维持在或高于其1974年的水平呢？这很可能是投机的压力在发挥作用，影响了欧佩克和其他产油国。虽然市场心理的变化令人难以理解，但支撑这种非理性繁荣的主要因素却几乎总是明了的。