Energy Costs: Why Consumers Aren’t Sinking the Economy

We do not have abnormally high energy costs; we are simply coming off of a period of abnormally low energy costs.  (The thin horizontal lines are for reference, showing the current levels.)

That’s not to say that all is well.  Sudden transitions disrupt plans and habits, forcing consumers who had not anticipated the rising costs to have to spend less elsewhere.  Nonetheless, there’s nothing about recent energy costs that we can’t handle, with a little adjustment time.