The current low crude oil prices are the big story
for 2015. As Kenneth Rogoff (Professor
of Economics at Harvard University) pointed out, “they are a
once-in-a-generation shock and will have huge reverberations [1].
And it seems that this downward trend is
expected to continue for the first half of the year. Today, Brent barrel stands at US$47 but some financial analysts forecast an even
deeper plummeting down to US$30 in the coming months.
 |
| Source: www.euroinvestor.com |
Leaving aside the causes of this phenomenom, the
global fuel price slump can actually be seen as an opportunity for the ailing European
economy. However, the effects will not be symmetrical: they will not be the
same for every country in the EU; nor will they affect every economic sector to
the same extent.
In particular, mediterranean countries like Spain, which economies are highly
dependent on oil imports, are going to
be the great winners of this tendency[2].
In the other hand, highly energy-intensive activities, just as in the
case of freight transport, will benefit the most. Therefore, agrifood Spanish companies will
probably translate these lower transportation costs into more attractive prices
for their clients.
Although the future
is always uncertain and the behaviour of this commodity has an outstanding
speculative component, the fact is that, at the present day, diesel
fuel price is around 20% lower than a year ago. This situation cannot only be
verified when one goes to the petrol stations but when the Commission's Energy Market Observatory statistics are consulted.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario