Spear Paint’s Industrial Division headquarters are located in Midland, Texas. Here is a round-up on what’s happening in the area and the overall economic picture.
Over the past year, the Regional Economic Index has been trending downward, mainly due to the price of crude oil. This has caused the economy in the area to contract on a steady basis. However, some positive news in March has slowed the rate of decline. Crude oil prices rose to $34.58, up from $27.08 in February.
Another indicator of the Midland-Odessa economy is the number of drilling permits issued. Unfortunately, in the first quarter of 2016, the region issued the lowest number of permits since 2003.
On a more positive note, housing numbers were higher in the first quarter as compared to last year. Real estate sales were up 10% compared to March 2015, and the average home sale price was up 2.5% from one year ago.
Just a few short months ago, in October 2015, a study by financial website WalletHub was published in Texas Monthly magazine. The somewhat surprising news here is that Odessa and Midland ranked numbers one and three, respectively, on the list of fastest-growing economies in the United States. Despite most of the data being aggregated from several years ago, it is comforting to know that the area was doing so well and hasn’t recently fallen as far as some had feared.
In general, economists are optimistic. Oil futures are trading up 25% and oil price volatility appears to have eased since its March peak. Lessened concerns about economic growth and oil in storage could attribute to the lower volatility, though those concerns remain in place.