Many petrodollars are recycled across the global economy, making it tough to fully disentangle all of the effects of higher oil prices on economic growth. But on balance, they clearly still damage GDP.
The fact that the price of Brent Crude fell below the $95 level on Tuesday was thus significant. Lower crude prices are clearly helping the UK recovery, are helping manufacturers and will help mitigate the cost of living crisis.
It is often forgotten that the price of crude surged from $60-something a barrel in 2009 to around $125 the following year, remaining elevated for an extended period time.
This certainly didn’t cause the recession but it undoubtedly aggravated it across the oil-consuming world, a point which is now made far too rarely.
The Chancellor has had plenty of bad luck but the timing of this latest drop in oil prices couldn’t be any better for him.
All change at the cinema
Disruption is continuing to engulf the entertainment business and is now about to reach cinemas. Netflix, the remarkably successful US streaming film and content firm, is to produce its first full-length movie with the release of a sequel to the Oscar-winning martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
It has joined forces with the Weinstein Company and will simultaneously release Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: The Green Destiny in Imax cinemas and online in August 2015.
The old model – that films must always be released first in cinemas – is fraying. As Netflix and others such as Amazon commission more high-quality films, the pressure for change is likely to mount further.
But being an early disruptor doesn’t make a company immune from change or competitive pressure. eBay, which transformed the lives of millions and revolutionised the pricing and trading of second hand goods, is being forced to sell PayPal, the original electronic money.
eBay was where all of the excitement was just a few years ago, but it has long since been left behind by Amazon and many others. PayPal, by contrast, could be set for a rebirth.
It is glib and facile to say that change is accelerating — and the truth is, of course, that there have been plenty of periods of intense change in the past. But never before have disruptors been disrupted so quickly as is happening today.
allister.heath@telegraph.co.uk
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