Bank’s economist predicts spending spree
(L-R) Area VP & Country Manager Omari Corbin,
MD RBC DS Global Ltd Andrew McCartney,
SVP & Chief Economist Craig Wright,
Senior Vice President – Sales Tim Rider
(CNS): A Cayman-based economist at the RBC Royal Bank is predicting that lower gas and oil prices will trigger spending. During a client reception here in the Cayman Islands, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Craig Wright assessed the global economic trends for the year ahead and told around 130 guests that as families feel the cut in energy costs, they will start spending on other things.
“Further weakness in both oil and gas prices should provide additional support to spending, particularly as expectations of low energy prices become entrenched and households are more willing to spend the savings,” he said. “Low energy costs are likely to fuel a pickup in non-energy business investment, although the oil and gas industry will likely continue to suffer under persistently low energy prices.”
Wright, who leads a team of economists providing economic, fixed income and foreign exchange research to RBC clients, also spoke about the general economy, income, wealth and opportunity inequality, which needs to be solved, and ways to maximise the welfare and growth of economies in Cayman and around the world.
Tim Rider, Senior Vice President of Sales for the Caribbean, said the event provided professionals and business leaders “the opportunity to reflect on the complexities of improving the inequality conundrum”.
Well, the reality is that irregardless of what or how low fuel prices go, we will NEVER see any of its benefits here in the Cayman’s.
The USA’s own economy is estimated to get some $110 BILLION dollars this year alone from “savings on gas prices”.
We in the Cayman Islands, on the other hand, are continuously being price gouged with unjustified and unreasonable gasoline fuel prices.
Instead of our local economy reaping cost savings we are in-fact extracting money (M1) from our economy and suffering from too high cost of living; mostly attributed to exorbitantly prices fuel costs vs. what it should actually be.
We need to protest as WE TOO, should be receiving and enjoying some befits from low gasoline fuel prices.
Psssstt! George – have a look at the CPI for 2015 – it has declined by around 4%.
That means the cost of living has gone DOWN.
Look at the details of the recent CUC press release – your electricity bill has gone DOWN! The fuel factor has gone DOWN! CIG has reduced fuel duty for CUC by TWO THIRDS ie yes that’s right – gone DOWN.
Now we need the gasoline prices to go down some more but they have nevertheless declined considerably to date and we are certainly getting the benefit of that!
DO NOT let things like facts and economics get in the way of George. George laughs at facts and economics. He is not scared of them, he pushes right on as if they were not there. Good luck George, there are many windmills ahead for you to tilt at.
Have shipping or insurance rates dropped? Nope. Ergo, grocery store prices have not budged, the number one cost of living expense for every family on these islands.
See reference to CPI decline above. Not all costs have gone down of course but enough have to show an overall 4% decline in the cost of living and note that the consumer price index is otherwise known as the “cost of living index”.