Is it time to worry about the price of oil?  Quietly it seems, especially relative to gold and silver prices, the price of crude oil has been rising since the beginning of the summer. The question is whether the current price of oil is going to have a dampening effect on the economic recovery?  At current levels, probably not.  But a further rise in oil prices, or more ominously a sudden spike, could damage consumers ability to spend.  It could also have a negative effect on the ongoing recovery in auto (and truck) sales.  The stock market has not surprisingly already noted the rise in crude oil.  The relative price of energy stocks has been rising along with the price of crude.  In today’s screencast we examine the effect of crude oil prices on the economy and stock market.

Items mentioned in the above screencast:

Worrying about oil prices. (Econbrowser)

Energy sector strength.  (Bespoke)

Daily price of crude oil futures.  (Finviz)

Daily price chart of the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE).  (Finviz)