Looking at the global economy as a whole, the continued decline in oil and commodity prices seems to be having an increasingly detrimental impact. This decline has now reached such a magnitude that it has at times led to a self-reinforcing downward spiral in prices as oil producers react to falling prices by boosting production as a way of stabilising their revenue.
Numerous countries that are heavily dependent on oil and commodity exports are on the verge of a recession or have already entered one. Their government revenue is drying up and it is becoming more difficult for the buffers that are available to cushion their worsening budgetary position. They have therefore been curbing their private and public expenditure, which has hit euro-area exporters, amongst others.