Glimmer of hope amid the falling oil price gloom

Lower oil prices will be tough for the industry, but good for the global growth and demand

Call it an aberration, a slump, or a correction, the near-25% plunge in oil prices in the past three months comes with consequences. Some of the carnage is visible. As a group, the 199 biggest energy firms listed in the US have seen about 17% wiped off their stock. The RTS, Russia’s stock exchange, has fallen by about the same, while the rouble is now a quarter cheaper than it was in July. Against the US dollar, Canada’s loonie has shed 6% of its value. If $85 a barrel is the new normal for Brent, Opec’s spendthrift producers will start feeling the pinch quickly. High break-even oil prices among producers may be a motivator at their meeting in Vienna  later this month. Only those in the Gulf