Depending on your point of view, the stock market is doing well or it’s just getting ready to crash again. Well, according to the oil industry, there is a lot of gloom and doom.
After a 6 week high, things certainly did hit one industry hard as hell. Oil was sitting at barley $20 a barrel roughly two months ago, which led to a lot of purchases. Now though, things took a pretty drastic turn.
Since crude oil is in less demand due to work shortages and a lack of places to store the crude oil, prices continued to drop. Petering out at roughly minus $37 a barrel. That’s -38 by the way, that is a steep decline.
Matter of fact, that is the steepest decline in history since 1946. You know what was happening in 1946? World War II was ending, which meant the machine of war was finally allowed to rest. We didn’t have to refuel and manufacture tanks, planes and cars en masse. The fact that WWII is our closest comparable measuring stick is harsh.
Several ways to skin a cat, but this cat isn’t too layered
So what does this mean overall. Well, there are primarily two major ways to look at it, in terms of what the eventual outcome will be.
Firstly and foremost, it is forcing a stronger research and development into electric power, cars and machinery. Which is an overall win for both industry and the planet at large, especially with lower pollution levels.
Secondly, it means that the oil industry could possibly be looking at a complete collapse in the near future. While elements of it will rebound at some future date, the consistent drops indicate that other elements will not.
Should you be freaking out over this? Not necessarily no. If you work at an oil production field, or within one of those industries that benefits strongly from it. Yes, you might want to reconsider. For the rest of us, it just means you should start looking into how to make the shift from gas to electric, because it will become viable.
What do you make of this plunge? Is it expected or is it freaking you out? Be sure to let us know in the comments and follow us for more updates as they come out!
