I said recently that I didn’t think oil prices would continue to decline much below $100 a barrel. Well, today (October 10 as I write) West Texas Intermediate is at $85.82 and Brent Crude at $90.21. An article I linked to recently said that fracking is cost-effective right now when oil stays above about $60.

In other economic news, U.S. health care cost growth is significantly down and it seems like that trend might continue. And France’s economy might be in trouble.

What do all these trends mean taken together? I have no idea, but I can speculate as well as anyone. Europe has been stagnant and is staying that way. Growth and energy demand are slowing in Asia too, exactly when U.S. oil and gas production are booming. Maybe solar panels are starting to take a bite out of the natural gas market? Probably not yet, but that will happen.

The U.S. health care system is an extraordinarily complex and inefficient market that nobody truly understands. There are some signs it may finally be getting a little more efficient. I think this may be one reason the U.S. looks like a bright spot in the overall lackluster world economy right now.