Cheaper oil could continue into 2015, to global benefit

IN the past two weeks, the oil price plunge has accelerated, capping a year in which oil has lost more than one-third of its market value. Crude oil, for instance, has fallen 36 per cent this year alone as it dipped to below US$70 a barrel.

The impact of the oil price decline has generated divided opinion. On the one hand, policymakers are betting on this development to spur economic growth: lower input prices will help businesses, while falling consumer fuel costs will boost consumption. But some economists and observers have warned that declining oil prices could plunge …