While the price fall began the previous September, a continuation of this slump from around $60 per barrel in January to something in the high thirties as the year ended cheered consumers in oil importing countries while shaking the economic foundations of oil exporting nations.
Views are very mixed on whether next year will be a good or bad one for investors overall, with strong arguments on both sides. It is certainly fair to say that 2016 will have a hard time matching 2015 in terms of its economic eventfulness.
