press review - oil prices

Hello everybody! 

I was reading an article some time ago in the online magazine “English online” and it talks about the prices of oil.

I thought you might be interested in it because prices of fuel influence all regions of the world, including Austria and it is interesting to know which countries benefit from this.

Basically, what it says is that for the first time in four years, prices of oil have been decreasing steadily.

It is also said that right now you pay $60 to $80 dollar per barrel, which are 159 litres. Before that decrease prices were at around $100 dollar per barrel. According to the prognosis there are no signs of the prices increasing again in near future.

The author also mentions that Saudi Arabia tried to stabilize the prices by producing less oil, but unfortunately the Unites States started a procedure called fracking, where you extract oil that is trapped in rocks.

It is also mentioned in the text that there are some countries benefitting from the falling prices. For example, in Europe the downward movement of oil prices is expected to be good for the economy. Japan and China for example are tied to oil from other countries. They have to import almost all of their oil. Therefore, the low prices are beneficial for them, also.

What surprised me most was that Russia’s income consists 70 % from the two natural resources oil and gas, and because of the falling prices Russia misses approximately 2 billion dollar of income per year.

In my mind the advantages and disadvantages of this price drop balance each other.

What do you think – are there more advantages or disadvantages for you personally when it comes to oil prices falling down?

Barrel = 159 Liter

Downward movement = Abwärtsbewegung

Extract = entnehmen

Prognosis = Prognose

Beneficial = vorteilhaft