Even as more than 10% of global crude oil supply suddenly disappeared from the market, oil didn’t hit record high levels. Crude oil prices haven’t even stayed permanently above $100 per barrel. Three key drivers have kept oil prices from surging to never-before-seen highs. Crash in China’s Crude Imports Kept Prices CappedArguably, the biggest cushion the market has had was China’s crude oil import behavior. Five months into the crisis, China’s tumbling demand for crude oil imports has been the key demand-side factor in capping oil price spikes.