Bukold, S. Sudden fall in oil prices and consumer prices – Impacts of falling oil and gasoline prices on prices of selected products and services of everyday use

Global prices for crude oil have dropped from 105 $/barrel in the first half of 2014 down to 55 $/barrel beginning of 2015. This implies enormous cost savings in many sectors – in Germany alone the daily consumption of oil amounts to 2,4 mio barrels. Who actually profits from this price drop? Are cost savings passed on to consumers? Which products and services are particularly affected by the decreased oil price? The vzbv addresses these question in its brief study. Firstly some background information on the decline in oil prices is offered. Looking at specific products and services it is then analyzed to which extent consumer prices would have to decline if the drop in oil prices were to be passed on effectively to consumers. As a comparison official price statistics are used to look at the actual decline in consumer prices.

The publication can be found here.