Unfortunately, there is also an alternative and darker way of looking at it; far from being a boon, the low oil price may be symptomatic of something far more troubling. Whether a much lower oil price turns out to be a net positive, or instead something rather more sinister, depends on what’s causing it. If it is a cyclical, or supply side phenomenon caused by over-investment in new sources of production, then the effect ought on balance to be broadly positive, at least for consumer economies. But if instead the falling price is a reflection of subdued demand, then it is likely to be far less so. The big worry is that it is rather more of the latter than the former.