China devours Western prop of falling oil prices

…It used to be the case that when the Western world went into recession, oil prices would automatically fall.

As the principal energy consumer, a weaker West meant the global economy needed less crude.

The resulting lower energy costs would help us escape recession, easing fuel bills while allowing our central banks to cut interest rates with less fear of inflation.

The world has now changed. The West remains in an economic coma, yet oil just hit $81 a barrel