Falling oil prices good for economy and middle class: US

Observing that it is monitoring the steep drop in oil prices, the White House has said that the falling oil price is good for the American economy and the middle class.

"This is something that we're always monitoring. I believe we talked about this a little bit at the end of last year. But we're always monitoring the impact that any sort of policy area would have on the economy, so it's certainly something that we're watching," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday.

"I think that as a general matter, speaking broadly, the impact of falling energy prices has been good for the US economy," he said in response to a question.

"We believe that falling gas prices are, as a general matter, pretty good for the economy and it certainly is good for middle-class families that are being pinched," he added.

The spokesperson said when people go to the pump and they see that the prices at the pump are up to a dollar cheaper than they were last year that certainly means more money in the pocket of middle-class families.

"That's good for those middle-class families that the President (Barack Obama) believes are so critical to the success of our economy," he said.

He further added that it is also a testament to the success that the US has had over the last several years, in part because of the policies put forward by this administration, to increase production of domestic oil and gas.

"It also is a testament to some of the policies this administration put in place five years ago to raise fuel-efficiency standards," Earnest said.