The 1980s oil glut was a serious surplus of crude oil caused by falling demand following the 1970s energy crisis. The world price of oil had peaked in 1980 at over US$35 per barrel (equivalent to $115 per barrel in 2021 dollars, when adjusted for inflation); it fell in 1986 from $27 to below $10 ($67 to $25 in 2021 dollars). The glut began in the early 1980s as a result of slowed economic activity in industrial countries due to the crises of the 1970s, especially in 1973 and 1979, and the energy conservation spurred by high fuel prices. The inflation-adjusted real 2004 dollar value of oil fell from an average of $78.2 in 1981 to an average of $26.8 per barrel in 1986.

The dramatic drop of the price of oil in 1985 and 1986 profoundly influenced actions of the Soviet leadership.