Another part is that investment in the equipment and structures needed for shale oil production had become an important component of aggregate U.S. investment, and that component began a rapid decline. For these reasons, although the United States has remained an oil importer, the decrease in the world price of oil had a mixed effect on U.S. gross domestic product.
Benchmark interest rates also serve as an infrastructure for forward interest-rate contracts, contracts that make it possible for companies and the public to reduce interest rate risks. It is reasonable to assume that within the framework of an efficient Telbor market, financial companies will have the opportunity to hedge and better manage their balance of risks.