n. An extremely rapid or unprecedented rise in the price of a commodity, particularly oil.
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.
The Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs predicts a $200-a-barrel super spike is a very real possibility in the near future.
2008
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.
2000 (earliest)
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.