#GOLDILOCKS ECONOMY 2017 PLUS#

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that 227 000 jobs were created in January, much higher than expected and the strongest monthly gain since September 2016. Consumers should therefore find something to cheer too.вЂќ The US labour market report for January 2017, released on 03/02/17 would fit into a Goldilocks macro-economic screenplay.

#GOLDILOCKS ECONOMY 2017 PLUS#

However, prices in this range would still be well below the $100 plus that many (not us!) had argued was the вЂnew normalвЂ™ a few years ago. вЂњThis would be high enough to keep major producers afloat and justify renewed investment in the oil sector. More importantly, a price range of $45 to $60 a barrel could be just right for the world economy, Jessop argues. Related: Global Debt Hits a Record $152 Trillion. The latest OPEC-inspired rally has taken them out of this range, for now at least, but they are still relatively stable compared to the swings that had gone before.вЂќ Prices then recovered to a range of around $40-50 over the summer. вЂњRecall that prices averaged $100 or more from 2011 until the first half of 2014, before collapsing to the high $20s earlier this year. вЂњThe first point to stress is that the truly seismic shifts in oil prices are now behind us,вЂќ he writes.

In a note to clients Tuesday, Jessop writes that his team expects oil prices to slip and finish the year back around $45 a barrel before recovering and climbing toward $60 by the end of 2017. Related: WhatвЂ™s Ailing the Economy? Political Paralysis May Be the Biggest ProblemДЄs the oil market staggers its way toward a new balance of supply and demand, Julian Jessop, chief global economist at Capital Economics, says we could end up in a вЂњGoldilocksвЂќ scenario for the global economy. 'An agreement to cut production, while increasingly likely, remains premature given the high supply uncertainty in 2017 and would prove self-defeating if it were to target sustainably higher oil prices,' Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a Tuesday note. Then prices slipped Tuesday as the International Energy Agency reported that global oil supplies increased last month and skepticism set in over whether a deal to cut output would really be reached - or how effective it would be in raising prices.

Oil prices hit a one-year high on Monday after Vladimir Putin said that Russia was ready to sign on to an OPEC deal to cap production.

Goldilocks economy 2017