Skip navigation links
The Problem
The Solution
News
About Us
Tell Friends
News
News Releases and Updates
4/26/2012 - CFTC May Continue CEA Suit Alleging Oil Price Manipulation
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission may proceed with its claims against two futures traders and their firms over their alleged manipulation of West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices in 2008 in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled April 26.   BNA
7/21/2011 - Dating the Timeline of Financial Bubbles During the Subprime Crisis
Study by The present paper uses econometric methodology to test if and when bubbles emerged and collapsed in the real estate market, the commodity market, and the bond market over the period surrounding the subprime crisis.   Peter C. B. Phillips and Jun Yu
6/5/2011 - Price Formation in Financialized Commodity Markets – The Role of Information
A number of studies find evidence of commodity price bubbles. Analyses show that position-taking by index investors, that passively replicate the price movements of an index based on a basket of commodities, has an impact on price developments, particularly of crude oil and maize. The fact that these effects are persistent – especially in the case of crude oil – points to the presence of herd behaviour.  

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

All News | News Releases | Testimony & Comments | Speeches | Letters | Studies
Articles of Interest
5/2/2012 - Sherrod Brown says excessive oil speculation is driving gas prices, perhaps by 56 cents a gallon
"We’re seeing gas prices rise long before the peak summer driving season — and excessive oil speculation is a key source of these cost spikes," Sen. Sherrod Brown said in a news release. "In fact, one recent report showed that out-of-control speculation adds 56 cents to every gallon of gasoline siphoned from the pump — and that’s outrageous."
  Politifact
4/11/2012 - Opinion: The High Cost of Gambling on Oil
Eliminating pure speculation on oil futures is a question of fairness. The choice is between a world of hedge-fund traders who make enormous amounts of money at the expense of people who need to drive their cars and heat their homes, and a world where the fundamentals of life — food, housing, health care, education and energy — remain affordable for all.   New York Times
4/10/2012 - Oil Speculators: The Damage Is Real
Let's be clear on something: It's not a conspiracy theory. A good portion of the pain that consumers are feeling at the gas pump is indeed caused by speculators. This isn't some half-baked Internet meme, or somebody babbling on a Yahoo message board. It's a fact.   TheStreet.com
All Articles | News Stories | Commentary
Opinion Leaders Speak Out
3/21/2012 - Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), U.S. Senate
"The American people shouldn't be held hostage to Wall Street [oil] speculators."  Reuters
3/21/2012 - Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), U.S. Senate
"Millions of American consumers are hurting as a result of excessive speculation on the oil futures market and the future of our economy hangs in the balance. The time to act is now."  The Hill
3/21/2012 - Congressional letter to CTFC, Congress
"It is one of your primary duties — indeed, perhaps your most important — to ensure that the prices Americans pay for gasoline and heating oil are fair, and that the markets in which prices are discovered operate free from fraud, abuse and manipulation,” the lawmakers said in a letter."  The Hill
All Quotes | Financial and Energy Experts | Congress and Other Governmental Officials
Commentators | Consumers | Academia and Think Tanks

 

Happening Now
5/2/2012  Sherrod Brown says excessive oil speculation is driving gas prices, perhaps by 56 cents a gallon
Politifact
4/26/2012  CFTC May Continue CEA Suit Alleging Oil Price Manipulation
BNA
4/11/2012  Opinion: The High Cost of Gambling on Oil
New York Times
4/10/2012  Oil Speculators: The Damage Is Real
TheStreet.com
4/9/2012  Consumer Federation of America: The American consumer is paying 75 cents more per gallon because of excessive speculation
The Fiscal Times
[see more]

What the Experts Say ...
"Excessive speculation defeats the very purpose for the commodity markets, which have been taken over and distorted by speculators gambling on future price moves. If speculation is stopped, prices can be again tied to supply and demand, and not the whims of Wall Street. And that, in turn, will provide relief at the pump."
Dennis Kelleher, president, Better Markets, 03/21/2012
CNN Money