The price of crude oil fell below $70 per barrel on Thursday, its lowest price since July of 2007 and less than half of the price in July of 2008. Many economists say this may be cause for concern about the state of the economy. "Falling crude oil prices are not due to fears of a global recession, they are due to the reality of a global recession," said Stephen Martin, a professor of economics. Although it is difficult to predict long-term trends, he said oil prices will go back up. David Hummels, a professor of economics, said fears of a recession directly affect the price of commodities. "Demand for these commodities tends to fall, and their prices fall, when people are worried that a recession will reduce output," he said. "Build fewer buildings, then you need less steel, then there is less iron ore demand." Low crude oil prices may reflect on a struggling economy, but there can be some good things that come of this. "In addition to giving consumers a break at the gas pump, it should help lower input costs for firms, especially those in transportation-intensive industries like food," Hummels said. "That is, groceries should get cheaper." Kanda Naknoi, an assistant professor of economics, said, "It is definitely good for consumers, since the price of gasoline at gas stations did fall, too." She said there are some questions to be asked, though, that relate to the price of gasoline when crude oil prices were high. "However, it is fair to question whether the price of gasoline ... fell as fast as when it went up following rising oil prices in the past," Naknoi said. "This question is related to the profit margins of the oil companies, since they passed the high cost of crude oil to gasoline prices in the past."

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