In the past, a rebound in the price of crude would have been seen as a blow, at least outside Scotland â?? but these days, we seem to have started cheering each time it goes up.
Why? Have we lost the plot, or is it right for the UK, paradoxically now a major net oil importer as a result of the demise of the North Sea industry, to hope for a stabilisation of the price of oil? The answer is that oilâ??s slump remains good news, on balance, for consumers and manufacturers. With oil production contributing far less than before to our GDP, the direct downside on that front is small.
But there are counterbalancing factors, reasons why it makes sense for the financial markets to worry, even if the ultra-pessimists are wrong.
