Energy, U.s. Economy | featured news

A sharp decline in the price of oil this month is making gasoline cheaper at a time of year when it typically gets more expensive. It's a relief to motorists and business owners and a positive development for the economy. Over the past three weeks, the price of oil has fallen by 9 percent to $89 a barrel.

U.S. gasoline prices crept up by about 2 cents per gallon over the past two weeks, but higher crude oil prices are likely to mean more small increases on the horizon, the latest Lundberg Survey concluded Sunday.

There is a dirty little secret about economics writing. The thing that offers the surest path to glory to front page play for a story, to lots of Web traffic, to a pat on the back from editors is doom and gloom. When we can point out something that is awful, whether it is a collapsing job market or rising poverty or skyrocketing gasoline prices, the world seems a whole lot more interested in what we have to say. It's not for nothing they call economics the dismal science.

U.S. retail sales rose in September as Americans bought more cars and gasoline, while a gauge of consumer spending pointed to stronger-than-expected economic growth in the third quarter.

Producer prices rose by the most in three years in August as energy costs surged, but underlying inflation pressures remained contained, keeping the door open to a further easing of monetary policy.

Consumers have caught a break from the slowing economy as gasoline prices extended their steep three-month decline, but the cost of filling the tank may soon head back up, a widely followed survey said on Sunday.

U.S. wholesale prices rose only slightly last month, as higher costs for food and pickup trucks offset another drop in energy prices. But overall inflation stayed mild.