Slide in oil prices set to fuel US stocks rally

THIS week, US stocks are likely to continue their record run as the traditional end-of-year rally gets an extra lift from a dramatic drop in petrol prices.

The national average price of petrol has fallen every day now for about a month-and-a-half to US$2.91 a gallon (3.8 litres) on Friday, according to AAA, the automobile association that provides roadside repairs and driving data. A few months ago, most Americans had reckoned that sub-US$3 gasoline was a piece of history.

Last week, Wal-Mart was the first major institution to state that its customers were likely to spend more on holiday items at i…