Economy Remains Strong Despite Rising Fuel Costs
NEW YORK — The price of crude oil has more than doubled this year to $27 a barrel, but the rise has not cooled off the hot U.S. economy, which is headed toward record growth.
For trucking and other industries keeping a close watch on the upswing, oil cost would have to reach about $65 a barrel before equaling its inflation-adjusted peak in 1981, when the United States was headed toward a recession, according to a study by the Department of Energy.
Oil prices passed $26 at the New York Mercantile Exchange after Saudi Arabia and other exporters cut global output by 7%. However, the increases did not worry Dave Costello, the DOE economist in charge of the Short-Term Energy Outlook report.
 | Average Oil Prices | |
| Year | Price* | |
| 1981 | $64.69 | |
| 1983 | $45.67 | |
| 1985 | $39.16 | |
| 1987 | $24.81 | |
| 1989 | $22.92 | |
| 1991 | $21.85 | |
| 1993 | $17.88 | |
| 1995 | $18.13 | |
| 1997 | $19.00 | |
| 1999 | $17.35 | |
| * in 1999 dollars | ||
| Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy | ||
The nation is in its ninth year of economic expansion as computers and other technologies increase productivity while businesses use less fuel. Oil accounts for a smaller part of the nation’s economy — less than half of what it did in 1981.
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