High oil prices fuel public discussion about the future of oil prices.

Consequently, oil prices increase.

But the recent collapse in oil prices could change this dynamic. In refusing to cut its own production, Saudi Arabia seems to be hoping that low oil prices will drive down investment in US shale energy, undermining production growth there.

Therefore, prices could be low but not abnormally low.

Oil Prices and Global Growth

Oil prices are not helping.

Food prices are soaring. Oil prices are at historic highs.

Flooding global markets with Canadian oil would constrain global oil prices.

Can High Oil Prices Be Good?

But, whereas metal prices have fallen, oil prices are reaching record highs.

No quick fix exists for oil prices.

If oil prices decline in the future, the oil industry will suffer severely.

For most non oil exporting developing countries, the improvement in commodity prices stimulated 2004 growth, outweighing the negative effects of higher oil prices.

First, it has contributed to rising oil prices.

How Does the Weak Dollar Affect Oil Prices?

When oil prices fall rapidly, growth follows suit.

Do Low Interest Rates Ensure High Asset Prices?

For some, low prices would render them insolvent.

Low cost oil is rapidly being depleted.

To date, neither the surge in oil prices nor the steep price increases in other commodities have triggered significant second round effects on prices in the developed economies, where inflation rates, albeit rising, remained relatively low in 2004.

Oil prices rose throughout 2004, with accelerating fluctuation as prices peaked in August and October.

Oil prices are soaring, as are Putin s approval ratings.

Oil prices will continue to rise until demand collapses.

This enables continued economic growth with high oil prices.

And Obama s triumph heralded the fall in oil prices.

Surging oil prices are draining our foreign exchange revenues.

Why hasn t the huge spike in oil prices cut the world to its knees, as it has on so many other occasions? Again, the answer is low interest rates.

The combination of high oil prices and production, low interest rates, ample liquidity in both public and private sectors and associated domestic demand expansion gave rise to strong growth.

Last point, last graph. One of the things that we've got to do is to stabilize oil prices. This is what oil prices look like, OK?

Rising oil prices transferred money to oil rich countries, again contributing to the flood of liquidity.

Sure, there were sharp movements in oil prices corresponding to these events, but maybe there were other, even more important factors affecting general trends in oil prices.

WASHINTGTON, DC Until a few weeks ago, while oil prices were surging, debate raged about the relative roles of economic fundamentals and speculation in boosting oil prices.

The second threat to economic recovery is high oil prices.

The effect is direct when it comes to oil prices.

That, in turn, reduces oil exports, driving up prices further.

Instead, world oil prices have soared to 35 per barrel.

The world market prices oil according to its opportunity cost.

Skyrocketing oil prices, however, were nullifying the country's previous advances.

The first factor is the relationship between oil prices and economic growth in the oil producing countries.

At the same time, oil hedging not only raises oil prices but results in huge reserves of cash in oil producing countries.

But continued growth increases demand for oil, sending prices even higher. The alternative to monetary and fiscal expansion is recession, at which point oil prices would stop rising.

The Bush administration once claimed that the Iraq war would be good for the economy, with one spokesperson even suggesting that it was the best way to ensure low oil prices.

Within this second transition, higher oil prices mean consumption by oil producers has to increase while that of oil consumers has to fall.

For example, in January 1974, when the first world oil crisis began, oil prices doubled in just days.

Finally, there is the relationship between oil prices and fiscal and monetary policies in the oil consuming countries.