The typical new house is now almost 10% cheaper.Thanks to cheaper petrol, strong wage growth and booming stockmarkets, consumers have shrugged off these price falls.
Though probably we won't hear Mr Bush, or any other Republicans, thanking rising income inequality in any of their stump speeches.UPDATE Our new web exclusive on the GDP figures points out that there are some rays of hope piercing all the gloom Thanks to cheaper petrol, strong wage growth and booming stockmarkets, consumers have shrugged off these price falls.
Demand for petrol remains strong, especially in America and China, despite high prices.
The Government said the number of people out of work fell by 65,000 to 2.58 million in the three months to May, while lower petrol prices and strong early discounting in the summer sales drove inflation down to a 31-month low of 2.4 per cent in June.
Volatility in petrol prices has strong impacts on economic variables such as economic growth, industrial production, and employment decisions in labor markets, not to mention its effect on the current account deficits and financial markets through various channels, since crude oil is also a financial commodity traded in spot and future markets.
The chancellor is under pressure to announce an increase to £10,500 in the personal income tax allowance from 2015 and will probably find the temptation to freeze excise duty on petrol and diesel too strong to resist.
Exempting them from the congestion charge seems odd: they still take up space on the roads, and Britain's eye-watering petrol taxes give a strong boost to greener cars already.But they caught the green imagination, and now the G-Wiz, at any rate, may be in trouble.
In the US, long distance bus revenues felt a greater impact from reduced petrol prices and the strong dollar has deterred tourists from Europe, creating competition on bus routes from airports and to out-of-town discount outlets used by shoppers visiting the US.
"However, it looks like that didn't happen – there was a strong smell of petrol but no burning".
The latest figures from the high street last week showed sales rose in December as motorists rushed to fill up cars with cheaper petrol and food shopping was strong ahead of Christmas.
The ONS said falling sales in department stores and at petrol stations had offset a strong performance by clothing stores, where sales of winter lines were helped by colder weather.
