since 1960, as a founding member of opec, its oil pricing policy has been generally to stabilize the world oil market and try to moderate sharp price movements so as to not jeopardise the western economies. in 1973, saudi arabia and other arab nations imposed an oil embargo against the united states, united kingdom, japan and other western nations which supported israel in the yom kippur war of october 1973. the embargo caused an oil crisis with many short- and long-term effects on global politics and the global economy.