WASHINGTON — Sinking oil prices have cratered the stock market. But a silver lining could appear eventually.
Cheaper gasoline and heating oil are giving consumers worldwide more money that they can use to step up spending later — and perhaps energize economies in the United States, Europe and much of Asia.
The question is, will they — and when?
“It’s definitely a plus for consumers,” Sara Johnson, an economist at forecasting firm IHS Global Insight, said of the deep savings being accumulated from sharply lower energy prices. “We should see a pickup in spending in the first quarter.”
The price of oil reached a 12-year low of $28.15 a barrel by the end of trading Wednesday before poking above $29 on Thursday. As recently as June, the price was about $60.