Unforeseen consequences abound in all this Hoof.

Imagine this scenario....consistently low oil price leads to the bankruptcy of Petrobras, Brazil's biggest company by far. This brings down the Brazilian banking system which. in itself isn't too worrying, but Santander's earnings come 75% from Latin America, even though it's Spain's biggest bank. So the contagion has crossed to Europe. But who is the bulk of Santander's 3rd party derivative trading with? JP Morgan in the US. And so from an apparently insignificant Brazilian oil company going under we have Global Financial Crisis II.

Fact or fiction?

Just a festive thought.

*****Smug Mode***** (why is there no smug Smilie?)

It's 99.4 cents a litre here (that's 49p to you!).

Falling rapidly.

Petrol could be £1 a litre by Xmas.

Is this a good thing?

On the face of it yes - we all benefit from lower running costs and haulage firms generate greater profits.

What about the wider picture and global economy?

Lowering oil prices come about as a result of China's economic slowdown - they reduce useage of steel and other basic consumables which has a knock on effect on other economies and markets.

Many of you on here will have pension funds invested in the stock market and you will be taking a big hit as share prices drop and income from them reduced or curtailed.

Oil companies are making many people redundant too.

[Link]

Falling Oil prices hit emerging economies too like Brazil, Nigeria so anyone invested in those countries will see losses too.

So, on the face of it Oil prices falling are a good thing, but when you drill down (pun intended LOL ) maybe it's not that good really!

Only India seems to be bucking the trend, but eco warriors are trying to get them to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels to drive their economy upwards which they are ignoring at the moment.

Edited by Hoof Hearted (09 Dec 2015 11.29am)

I bought that very point up during the referendum...they seriously dodged a bullet there. Can you imagine the wailing and tears if it had beena yes vote!

Wow £1 a gallon ! crikey That is some fall !

Even £1 a litre would be a big drop

What is the current price of diesel around croydon at the moment as I'm coming down for the match tomorrow and it's usually 3-4p cheaper then here (current best £1.07p on the way or £1.08p local)