Crude's recent-surge took its price to an eye-popping $100 a barrel. The latest jump means that Americans can expect to pay more for everything from gasoline to food.
A consumer slowdown would be bad news, because the economy is showing signs of strain. So will $100-a-barrel oil be the straw that breaks the economy's back?
Another huge-rise in oil prices this year wouldn't help the economy - but it's not at all apparent that it would break it either.
The economy's resilience is due in part to gains in energy efficiency over the past quarter-century. Ken Medlock, a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, notes an energy-saving shift from a manufacturing-led economy in the 70s & 80s.
"I don't think we're going to see a pullback like in the 1970s and 1980s," he says.
Via CNN-Money
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