National Bank Financial Inc. says that the oil price rise this year has so far caused more fear than harm.

In a recent report, NBF finds that higher oil prices have helped slow the growth of U.S. consumer spending but that the effect is not sufficient to derail the economy. The danger zone for oil probably begins around US$60 a barrel, NBF says. “In our view, $50 is manageable, $70 would be a hard knock.”

“Oil has so far caused more fright than damage. The effect of the price rise has been to slow consumer spending growth, resulting in a U.S. soft patch last quarter,” it declares. “Whatever the case, the price of oil is on our watch list.”