A $100 (£72.70) oil price is now a strong possibility. Surprisingly, though, this could be good news for equity investors.
I say so because there has for years been a tendency for oil prices and equities to rise and fall together. Since 2003 there has been a correlation of 0.44 between monthly changes in Brent crude and in the All-Share index, with a 10 per cent monthly rise in the oil price associated on average with the All-Share rising by 1.6 per cent.