U.S. energy industry on the rocks

As crude oil prices plummet just about everywhere to under $30 per barrel, the U.S. risks another energy industry collapse similar to the one in the 1980s. The reason for this is that oil prices must be at roughly $70 per barrel or above for profitability to be realized in countries outside the Middle East.

What is the benefit of lower crude oil prices to the U.S. economy? Not much, as evidenced by the calculation that a halving of oil prices results in only about a 0.5% in GDP here, economists contend.

Click here to read the article about collapsing oil prices