Oil price worries

China Slowdown Seen Worst for Norway as Oil Key to Growth By Saleha Mohsin Mar 21, 2014 8:45 AM; http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-21/china-slowdown-seen-worst-for-norway-as-oil-key-to-growth-1-.html; "...Bjoernland’s research shows that 40 percent of the increase in oil prices over the last 15 years is due to growth in emerging markets, especially Asia. A depreciation in the Norwegian krone spurred by a slowdown in China could provide some relief although it would be a “temporary fix,” she said.... “The main spill-overs from the oil sector to the mainland economy the last few years haven’t come through discoveries or productivity gains in oil and gas, but through higher oil prices,” she said. “That has made some of the economy less competitive.”... A rise in oil prices and oil activity together explain 35 percent of the growth in Norway’s mainland economy, according to a study by Bjoernland and Leif Anders Thorsrud, a Ph.D. student at the Norwegian Business School.... Brent crude, the North Sea benchmark, has slid about 12 percent to $106 a barrel from a high in 2011... “There are substantial spill-overs from oil price fluctuation to how the government spends their resources,” Bjoernland said. “They are also vulnerable to oil price falls.”