You’ve probably heard by now that tariffs will increase the prices of things you use and buy everyday, but are some goods more susceptible to tariffs in Oklahoma?
Stephen Kates, a financial expert for Bankrate, says yes, especially regarding machinery.
“In Oklahoma, if you’ve got any kind of equipment whatsoever, that’s gonna be impacted by tariffs. Parts, wheels, tires, looking at just about any input that’s coming into the country that goes into heavy machinery, light machinery,” he said.
As stocks have hit record lows in response to the tariffs, oil prices have also taken a tumble, which could impact the oil business in the sooner state.
“They have to plan very far ahead, if they’re going to be drilling new wells, if they’re going to be having exploratory operations. You got to plan that way ahead of time and that’s very capital intensive. If you think that oil prices are going to be low and falling, you may not make those investments,” he said.
But according to Pete Tibbles, the Senior Vice President of Foreign Exchange at BOK Financial, it’s not all doom and gloom.
“Oil has come down significantly so that should help Oklahoma with being an energy state so that should give some relief to the consumer at the pump,” he said.
He added falling interest rates can help consumers.
“Bond prices are going up, which means yields come lower, interest rates come down, and that’s gonna help anyone that wants to refinance their house, wants to look at buying a house, obviously mortgage rates should come down a little bit from where they’ve been,” he said.
Tibbles also said in turbulent financial times, a diversified portfolio can prevent your money from experiencing extreme price swings.
