Put this in the category of "be careful what you wish for" — certainly on this, the 27th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash.
Oil, and with it, the price of gasoline, has plummeted about 10 percent over the past 10 days. According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of gas is hovering just above $3.15 a gallon, with prices below $3 in many parts of the nation.
Here in New York City, prices are at levels not seen since 2011.
All this, as much of the Middle East is literally in flames.
Citigroup put out a report on Friday that estimates the drop in gas prices to multiyear lows will add $1.1 trillion to the US economy — a "stimulus package" on steroids that would best the TARP bailout of October 2008.
Obviously, the drop in gas prices is great for drivers and typically a boon for the US retail economy. The less money you spend on gas, the more you can spend on other items.
But not so fast.
It's important to remember that oil prices reached their peak on July 11, 2008, when they topped $147 dollars a barrel. In many parts of the country back then, gasoline prices were verging on $5 a gallon. Unfortunately, when they crashed, so did the rest of the economy.
Don't just take my word for it. Take Walmart's announcement on Friday. While the brainiacs at Citigroup say the huge drop in oil prices is a good omen, the folks in Arkansas who run the world's biggest retailer say things are not looking so hunky-dory.
Indeed, the huge global seller cut its sales range for next year to 2 percent to 3 percent, way down from the 3 percent to 5 percent rate originally forecast. Ten years ago, Walmart would tell you that every small decline in gas prices juiced its sales. Not today.
Yes, Americans are happy gas prices are down, but that's not enough to counter the malaise they are feeling in other parts of their wallets. It is also a bad forward indicator of economic strength in 2015.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Stepping on the gas stimulus
Dengan url
http://makananrasaenak.blogspot.com/2014/10/stepping-on-gas-stimulus.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Stepping on the gas stimulus
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar