Oil market size compared to top 10 metal markets 2023

The market size of oil was twice as high as that of the top 10 metal markets combined, according to calculations from June 2023. The source places oil as the biggest commodity in the world, still outranking the metal markets when adding other raw metals such as titanium or magnesium. Oil was so important as a commodity, the United States and Saudi Arabia agreed to price oil exports in U.S. dollars alone in 1973. That move standardized purchases, as all countries that wanted to buy oil from Saudi Arabia now had to use the USD to do so. This system is often referred to as the "petrodollar", and came under increasing pressure in 2023 as countries hoped to use the U.S. dollar less often.