Graphical Representations of Recessionary Woes: Oil Prices

Today on the Dancing Economist we will exploit a graphical tool in FRED that allows us to benchmark movements in an time-series with their historical recessionary past.  Todays graph is one of the West Texas Intermediate Spot Oil Price.

Notice how in the past recessionary oil prices didn't get as high as they historically have gotten and that they have also fallen more and rebounded with less vigor than the usual. In fact as the above graph shows, they are lower now than any point in time after any previous recession. The recessionary periods I have chosen to include in the min and max calculations are all but the 1973 one as the artificial price ceiling employed then distorts the numbers. Keep dancin' and I'll keep posting,

Steven J.