This Time, Cheaper Oil Does Little for the U.S. Economy

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This Time, Cheaper Oil Does Little for the U.S. Economy - by Binyamin Appelbaum/ Energy & Environment/ International New York Times/ The New York Times/ nytimes.com

"WASHINGTON — It has been a truism of the American economy for decades: When oil prices rise, the economy suffers; when they fall, growth improves.

But the decline of oil prices over the last two years has failed to deliver the usual economic benefits.

As oil prices have fallen to levels not seen since 2003 — sagging below $27 a barrel on Wednesday before rebounding to about $30 on Thursday — many experts now say they do not expect lower prices to bolster the domestic economy significantly in 2016.

“We got this wrong,” John C. Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, told an audience in Santa Barbara, Calif., this month..."

Oil pumpjacks in a salvage yard in Odessa, Tex. Damage to the domestic oil industry is offsetting much of the financial boon to consumers of cheaper gasoline. Credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images


Richard

 

[bogey21]

My Son was laid off by Schlumberger a number of months ago when they shut down their North Dakota operation as part of 12,000 layoffs a number of months ago. I see where they have announced there are another 20,000 layoffs pending. No doubt other oil and oil service companies are doing the same thing. Most likely the impact of layoffs is offsetting some of the benefits of lower cost of gasoline and heating oil.

George