$119 - The Only Economic Indicator that Matters

Oil prices hit $119.90 per barrel today. In 2002, during the run up to the Iraq War, oil was trading for as little $22 per barrel. That's a nearly fivefold increase in just six years.

You can have your Dow Jones Industrial Average, your S&P 500, your unemployment rate, your official inflation rate, your currency exchange rate, etc., etc., etc. When it comes to the economy, there is only one figure that really matters.

And right now that figure is $119 a barrel.