I remember a ton of people here rejecting the conclusions of Masters and his testimony to the U.S. Congress.
It was painfully obvious to anyone at the time who had their eyes open that speculators were the catalyst for volatility of oil prices, as Goldman & their ilk put on long oil trades, while simultaneously rigging terminal manifests, and hiring supertankers to store oil offshore, ensuring t would never reach the Cushing, OK terminal (and others).
That episode in American History, where speculators rigged prices, and the free market was 'dissed' (i.e. natural supply & demand pricing was thrown out), severely damaged the U.S. economy, with oil peaking at $147 per barrel.
http://www.portfolio.com/business-n...lames-speculators-for-oil-price-swings-report
CFTC report blames speculators for oil price swings: report
Jul 28 2009 1:28AM EDT
(Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is planning to issue a report next month that suggests that wild swings in oil prices were significantly driven by speculators, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Tuesday.
A 2008 report by the main U.S. futures-market regulator that attributed oil-price swings primarily on supply and demand was based on "deeply flawed data," Bart Chilton, one of four CFTC commissioners, told the paper in an interview on Monday.
The CFTC did not reveal preliminary figures from the report to the paper and declined to discuss the previous data.
Reuters attempts to contact the agency outside regular U.S. business hours were unsuccessful.
The CFTC will hold the first of three hearings on Tuesday to consider whether to limit holdings of energy and agricultural contracts and whether some traders should be allowed to exceed so-called position limits.
It was painfully obvious to anyone at the time who had their eyes open that speculators were the catalyst for volatility of oil prices, as Goldman & their ilk put on long oil trades, while simultaneously rigging terminal manifests, and hiring supertankers to store oil offshore, ensuring t would never reach the Cushing, OK terminal (and others).
That episode in American History, where speculators rigged prices, and the free market was 'dissed' (i.e. natural supply & demand pricing was thrown out), severely damaged the U.S. economy, with oil peaking at $147 per barrel.
http://www.portfolio.com/business-n...lames-speculators-for-oil-price-swings-report
CFTC report blames speculators for oil price swings: report
Jul 28 2009 1:28AM EDT
(Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is planning to issue a report next month that suggests that wild swings in oil prices were significantly driven by speculators, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Tuesday.
A 2008 report by the main U.S. futures-market regulator that attributed oil-price swings primarily on supply and demand was based on "deeply flawed data," Bart Chilton, one of four CFTC commissioners, told the paper in an interview on Monday.
The CFTC did not reveal preliminary figures from the report to the paper and declined to discuss the previous data.
Reuters attempts to contact the agency outside regular U.S. business hours were unsuccessful.
The CFTC will hold the first of three hearings on Tuesday to consider whether to limit holdings of energy and agricultural contracts and whether some traders should be allowed to exceed so-called position limits.