Media Center
Below you’ll find recent news, advertising campaigns, and articles of interest.
News Releases
ATA Supports FTC Market Manipulation Rule
October 17, 2008 – ATA
ATA comments to the FTC support a proposed rule to prohibit fraud, manipulation and deceptive conduct in energy markets in order to guard against conduct that would undermine the integrity of those markets and harm consumers. More »
Commodities Coalition Urges Immediate Action
September 29, 2008 – Commodities Coalition
In a letter to Congressional leaders, 14 organizations urge Congress to act as soon as possible to address the impact of excessive speculation in the futures markets. More »
Air Transport Association Reacts to Largest One-Day Oil Price Gain in NYMEX History
September 22, 2008 – The Air Transport Association
The Air Transport Association (ATA), the industry trade organization for the major U.S. airlines, today reacted to oil's largest one-day price gain in NYMEX history, stating that this record increase reaffirms that speculation is playing a significant role in driving up the price. More »
September 18th – House Approves Anti-Speculation Measures HR 6604
September 18, 2008
Today the House passed H.R. 6604 "The Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act" by a vote of 283-133. More »
Help Us Solve U.S. Airlines’ Pressing Fuel Problem
August 11, 2008 – WebWire
An open letter to customers from the Sabre Holdings Team More »
Legislation Scorecard
July 31, 2008
See how your member of Congress voted on H.R. 6604- Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act More »
ATA Statement: ATA Expresses Disappointment with Congressional Failure to Act on Speculation
July 30, 2008 – Air Transport Association
Renews Commitment to Push for Legislation More »
ATA Statement: ATA Voices Industry Support for HR 6604
July 30, 2008 – Air Transport Association
"The bill being considered by the House today, HR 6604 to amend the Commodities and Exchange Act, is a good first step to limit excessive speculation. However, more needs to be done," said ATA President and CEO James C. May. "ATA strongly supports firm position limits for energy commodities in… More »
New Poll: 67 Percent of Americans Want New Oil Market Regulations
July 16, 2008
Eighty Percent Believe Speculators Manipulating Oil Markets. More »
Read Full Poll Results
July 16, 2008 – Public Opinion Strategies and The Mellman Group
Eighty Percent Believe Speculators Manipulating Oil Markets. More »
Open Letter to Airline Customers
July 10, 2008
Airline CEOs sign joint letter to frequent fliers. More »
Advertising Campaigns
July 28th – View Our Ads
July 28, 2008
See us in Politico, Roll Call, The Wall Street Journal, and The Hill. More »
Articles of Interest
November 20th – Harkin Measure Would Require Openness, Transparency, and Integrity in Swaps and All Futures Trading
November 20, 2008
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today called for establishing stronger standards of openness, transparency and integrity in the trading of swaps and other over-the-counter financial derivatives as a critical step toward rebuilding and restoring confidence in the financial system More »
VIDEO:A preview of the Economic Summit
November 13, 2008 – Steve Pearlstein/Charlie Rose interview
A preview of the Economic Summit with Steven Pearlstein of "The Washington Post" More »
Op-Ed: Oil Speculators Playing Two-Headed Coin
October 6, 2008 – Business Travel News Online
Speculation and drilling are important issues that require prompt but separate consideration. Congress can act to end dark trading. Political parties and legislators who are not seeking a solution are surely part of the problem. More »
Airlines rattle former GOP allies
October 1, 2008 – The Politico
"Since no one else was pushing the impact of speculation, that became the focus of our activity on the Hill," May said. "We got into it for a simple reason: We were going to go bankrupt from $147-a-barrel oil." More »
Has the Revolution Started? Oil Prices Fall Under $94 a Barrel!
September 30, 2008 – The Auto Channel
News from Perth, Australia in the European and Americas' early morning hours is that U.S. light crude oil (for November delivery) has fallen another $2.50 per barrel, to $93.87. The report blames the rejection of the Washington Bailout Plan for the fall. But in light of the fact that a… More »
Will oil move back below $80?
September 30, 2008 – Blogging Stocks
Speculation cuts two ways. If those buying futures begin to gamble that oil will move down and if they begin to short crude, the downward push on oil could become significant. Speculators may have done a lot to hurt the economy by pushing oil prices up. Now, perhaps they can… More »
Navigating The Meltdown
September 29, 2008 – Forbes
An editorial from Forbes said, "Wall Street's persistent greed, the outrageously expensive war in Iraq and unbridled oil speculation have pummeled the U.S. economy into a corner." More »
Oil, Speculators, and Inventories
September 29, 2008 – David Friedman Blog
Whenever the price of something changes in a way some people don't like-up or down-someone blames it on speculators. Recent rises in the price of oil are no exception. In some cases it is true; speculators can affect prices. They raise prices by buying goods and storing them, thus reducing… More »
Oil: The economics of speculation
September 25, 2008 – Asian Energy
We are doubtless going to hear much about speculators in the coming months, as asset markets come to terms with the shifts in commodity prices, the credit crunch, and with the shifts taking place in the global economy. Speculators will be part of these price moves. However, we cannot blame… More »
Contract killing
September 25, 2008 – The Economist
Mr. May was not the only one to blame speculators. Truck drivers with similar views converged on Congress the following day, honking their horns in protest. The Democrats have vowed to pass a law crimping speculation. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates NYMEX, has promised an investigation. But oil… More »
Speculator? Oil Firm? Theories on Crude Spike
September 25, 2008 – Wall Street Journal
As theories swirl around Monday's unprecedented jump in oil futures, U.S. government officials suggested that a financial trader was responsible, though market participants suspect an oil producer might have been caught in dire need of extra barrels. More »
How to Break the Bubble Cycle
September 25, 2008 – TELOS
Derivative trading has massively expanded into oil and commodities. The oil price more than doubled in the twelve months from August 2007 to July 2008, soaring from about $71 to over $145. Since the mid-summer peak, the oil price has dropped by over 30%. With inventories largely unchanged, who would… More »
Senators Call for Crack Down on Excessive Speculation
September 25, 2008 – RTT News
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) said, "High energy prices are adversely affecting every sector of the U.S. economy from agriculture to manufacturing to services. We must assure consumers and businesses that the markets that affect the prices they pay are operating in a fair and transparent manner." More »
Oil Traders Subpoenaed After Price Surge
September 24, 2008 – Washington Post
An unusual jump in crude oil prices has prompted federal regulators to subpoena the records of several Wall Street traders, calling into question the sometimes risky practices of so-called short-sellers. More »
Surge in oil prices not due to fundamentals-Bodman
September 24, 2008 – Reuters
"It was clearly not a fundamental where the value of a barrel of oil dropped by $20 or so between 5 o'clock the night before and the next morning," Bodman told reporters following a speech at Gridweek, a conference of industry and government leaders focused on the future of the… More »
Oil isn’t the only energy source
September 24, 2008 – South Jersey Local News
Evidence shows that market prices are impacted by more than simple supply and demand. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, for example, recently announced that the increase of speculation in the energy marketplace has vastly outpaced the increase in oil prices; this may have created an oil "bubble," like the internet… More »
Truckers protest gas prices
September 24, 2008 – Washington Times
The truckers came to Washington to highlight the role of speculators and an indifferent Congress in the dramatic increase in fuel prices in recent years. Oil speculators buy futures contracts to profit from price fluctuations without physically owning any oil. More »
What Happened to the Oil Markets on Monday?
September 24, 2008 – Seeking Alpha
The most striking thing about Monday's oil prices was the disparity between different futures contracts. The October contract, which expired Monday, did indeed settle at $120.92, up more than $16. But oil for delivery in November closed at $109.27, an increase of only $6.62, and longer-forward contracts saw an even… More »
Oil Short Squeeze Prompts Call to Curtail Speculators
September 23, 2008 – Bloomberg
U.S. lawmakers may seek to include commodity speculation limits in legislation designed to rescue banks from bad mortgage investments after a squeeze in oil trading sent crude to a record gain. Crude oil for October delivery yesterday climbed more than $25 a barrel in New York Mercantile Exchange trading, before… More »
Oil price spike blamed on speculators
September 23, 2008 – Business Travel World
The trade association representingAmerica's airlines have said that Monday's record spike in the price of crude oil was a sign that speculators had returned to the markets. The price of crude oil on Nymex posted its highest one-day gain in history on Monday, reversing recent falls. The price of a… More »
Did speculators cause oil’s $25 one-day price jump?
September 23, 2008 – Blogging Stocks
Economist David H. Wang argues that speculators "may in fact be boosting oil's price" and a partial solution may be to require commodity traders to deposit more money per futures contract, thus reducing the number of speculators. That should lead to smaller price moves for oil, he said. However, Wang… More »
SPECULATION NATION: The Long and The Short of a Controversy
September 23, 2008 – Markets Media Online
The basic perception by the public that things were fundamentally amiss in the global economy was reinforced by the tarnished character of the market for securitizations of sub-prime mortgages. Companies with reputations for financial stability began taking hits to their balance sheets, being forced to recognize that suddenly illiquid derivative… More »
Bailing Out The Oil Market
September 23, 2008 – Forbes
While everyone knows the U.S. government is looking to bail Wall Street banks, few people realize that it's also bailing out speculative oil and commodities traders in the process, fueling a sharp rise in energy prices. Lehman Brothers and AIG held enormous trading positions in commodities markets. If those positions… More »
CFTC Said to Subpoena Traders After Spike in Nymex Oil Contract
September 23, 2008 – Bloomberg
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has subpoenaed dozens of traders as it probes why a Nymex oil contract rose the most ever yesterday, two people briefed about the legal proceedings said. Subpoenas were sent to New York Mercantile Exchange oil traders who were active yesterday and on Sept. 19,… More »
Bill O’Reilly “Talking Points” 9/22/08 – Policing the Fat Cats
September 22, 2008 – The O'Reilly Factor
Video More »
Oil’s jump makes history, but true test is yet to come
September 22, 2008 – MarketWatch
The future of global oil demand is more uncertain than ever given the U.S. rescue plan for the financial market, and no one's sure about the impact and recovery pace of production and refinery activity in the Gulf of Mexico following the recent hurricanes, analysts said. More »
Record single-day increase in oil prices
September 22, 2008 – San Francisco Chronicle
That the price of such a vital commodity could leap so high because of trading issues infuriated people who believe speculators play far too big a role in the energy market. "No war threat, pipeline leak, ship wreck - nothing, yet up goes oil nearly $25 a barrel," said Tim… More »
Statement by Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce
September 19, 2008
H.R. 6604 "Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act of 2008" More »
House Approves Anti-Speculation Measures
September 18, 2008
Today the House passed H.R. 6604 "The Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act" by a vote of 283-133. More »
Oil Speculators Reap the Profits While Drivers Pay the Price at the Pump
September 17, 2008 – MarketWatch
Oil market speculation is dramatically driving up oil prices and giving consumers major pain at the pump, environmental groups said today in a letter to Congress. The 14 groups are urging Congress to adopt policies that will rein in oil speculation, restore accountability in the oil commodity markets, and give… More »
Commentary: When the oil bubble is fueled by speculators
September 15, 2008 – Stamford Plus
When speculators are in play, things rarely make sense. Take crude oil, for example. Just a few months ago, the upward trend of the price of the greatest commodity in human history seemed unstoppable. After it hit $100, it quickly crossed $110, $125, $140... analysts left and right were fighting… More »
Why a Culture of Speculation Has Led to the Economic Crisis
September 15, 2008 – Amateur Economists
Speculators exist simply because our current economic system allows them to operate. It is not speculative investors themselves that are causing damage to the global economy but rather the whole concept of speculation, which has found a home in the free market. Speculation has become more than an investment approach;… More »
See You Later, Speculator
September 15, 2008 – Wall Street Journal
It was said to be the year of speculators gone wild. Seemingly everyone in Washington, including Barack Obama and John McCain, decided that oil prices were soaring because profiteers and middlemen were manipulating the futures markets. ... Then again, the speculation furor was never about the evidence. The politicians wanted… More »
Speculation prompts detailed report
September 15, 2008 – Fund Strategy
From now on the CFTC will collect such information on a quarterly basis. However, the report warned that the nature of such information means it is difficult to make such estimates precise. The report also argued that it is difficult to distinguish between speculation and hedging in practice. More »
Try a new angle on speculation about oil price swings
September 15, 2008 – Financial Times
Is speculation behind the swings in commodity prices? We've heard all kinds of arguments on the question of whether speculators were the driving force behind recent swings in commodity prices, especially oil. More »
Here A Drill, There A Drill
September 15, 2008 – Outside Online
The debate on price comes down to the distinction between oil speculation and production. Opponents say it will take years for the oil to reach the market, and when it does it will be such an insignificant quantity that in the global scale of things it will hardly affect prices.… More »
Cantwell Says She’s Working to ‘Shed Light’ on ‘Dark’ Oil Markets
September 15, 2008 – Kitsap Sun
"For the first time in months, oil is under $100 a barrel," Cantwell said in a statement. "And while this will bring short-term relief for millions of Americans, the price spike this summer and continued unnecessary price volatility is exactly what happens when you don't have police on the beat." More »
Commentary: When the oil bubble is fueled by speculators
September 15, 2008 – Stamford Plus
When speculators are in play, things rarely make sense. Take crude oil, for example. Just a few months ago, the upward trend of the price of the greatest commodity in human history seemed unstoppable. After it hit $100, it quickly crossed $110, $125, $140... analysts left and right were fighting… More »
More on Financial Speculation and Oil Prices
September 12, 2008 – Bubble Meter
A regulatory report released Thursday shows that those funds actually were cutting their stake in the oil market as prices were soaring. That data, based on private trading data gathered by market regulators, contradicts parts of a report released by Washington lawmakers on Wednesday. More »
Regulator Aims to Sort Oil Moves
September 12, 2008 – Wall Street Journal
The main U.S. futures-markets regulator called for new tools to assess the impact of speculators on the price of oil and other raw materials, calling its own data lacking and proposing to put a bigger burden on Wall Street to clarify the picture. More »
Is speculation to blame for high oil prices?
September 12, 2008 – Philadelphia Inquirer
"Rampant oil speculation has been significantly driving up fuel prices," James C. May, president of the Air Transport Association of America, an airline-lobbying group, said at a July hearing in Washington. "Speculation is playing as large a role as supply and demand," declared Sen. Byron Dorgan (D., N.D.). Both called… More »
Speculators’ role in crude-oil prices under examination
September 11, 2008 – Seattle Times
Federal regulators have uncovered evidence that oil speculators operating in unregulated "dark markets" may have helped drive the price of crude oil to record highs this year, McClatchy Newspapers has learned. More »
Reining In the Oil Speculators
September 11, 2008 – BusinessWeek
Oil prices have subsided, but some in Congress say more regulation of the futures markets is still needed. More »
Oil speculators played prices like a yo-yo, says new report
September 11, 2008 – St. Petersburg Times
But the biggest players of the oil price yo-yo, says Bloomberg News, are far better known firms: "JPMorgan Chase and Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Barclays Plc and Morgan Stanley control 70 percent of the commodities swaps positions, and swaps dealers are the largest holders of Nymex crude oil futures… More »
Index Traders Cut Oil Positions This Year, CFTC Says
September 11, 2008 – Bloomberg
"The CFTC's findings are too little, too late," Representative Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat, said in a statement. The report "makes it clear congressional action will be necessary to enact the reforms the CFTC is reluctant to implement on its own." More »
CFTC Releases Staff Report on Swap Dealers and Index Traders
September 11, 2008 – CFTC Release
"Based on the staff report, the Commission is recommending preliminary actions to increase transparency and improve controls in the marketplace. The recommendations represent steps in modernizing the agency's approach to oversight, while ensuring that the markets remain competitive, open, and on U.S. soil," said CFTC Acting Chairman Walter Lukken. More »
Bart turns up heat on oil speculators
September 10, 2008 – SooToday.com
"The Masters report shows in the clearest possible manner that it is not the fundamental supply and demand of oil driving up prices," Stupak said. "The only supply and demand this report shows is the supply and demand of money. As speculators pour more money into the energy market, prices… More »
Congress members pledge action after oil speculation study
September 10, 2008 – Oil & Gas Journal
"We have known for some long while that speculators have played a role in where oil prices have gone. We made the case that unbelievable, unbridled speculation has driven and then broken the market. This report shows how oil speculators controlled the market while the federal agency which should be… More »
Lawmakers Seek to Curb Speculators
September 10, 2008 – New York Times
Three members of Congress, armed with a new report that they say proves that excessive oil speculation is distorting consumer energy prices, are renewing their efforts to exclude many institutional investors from the nation's commodity markets. More »
Study links oil prices to investor speculation
September 10, 2008 – USA Today
"This analysis illustrates that when oil speculators poured large amounts of speculative money into oil markets, prices skyrocketed just as they were hoping ... And when the speculative money got pulled out, prices tumbled," Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said. More »
NEW REPORT: Index Speculators Have Been a Major Cause of the Recent Drop in Oil Prices
September 10, 2008
When Index Speculators pour large amounts of money into the commodities markets and buy large amounts of futures contracts, prices go up. When they pull large amounts of money out and sell large amounts of futures contracts, prices go down. These large financial players have become the primary source of… More »
Opinion: We need more oversight of U.S. energy markets
September 9, 2008 – The Mercury News
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which oversees oil markets, has reported that a small group of swaps dealers account for roughly 81 percent of oil futures trading on NYMEX. And this business has grown from $13 billion to $317 billion in the past five years alone. More »
Oil at $80 a Barrel?
September 3, 2008 – BusinessWeek
In recent years, energy traders plus an active hurricane season have usually meant one thing for oil: higher prices. Yet with the departure of Hurricane Gustav, a rally for the embattled greenback is overshadowing new storm systems churning away in the Atlantic and showing how the prospect of a choppy… More »
Editorial: Commodities Speculators
September 2, 2008 – Philadephia Inquirer
"The findings by the commodities commission about speculators' cornering the oil futures market is all the more reason to approve a Senate bill that calls for increased regulation of commodities trading. The legislation would give regulators at the commission discretion to step in when needed, without disrupting markets. The details… More »
A Speculation Gusher
September 2, 2008 – Palm Beach Post
The news didn't get enough attention, but there's now confirmation that speculation helped drive the price of oil to record levels, destroying jobs, changing travel plans and affecting the presidential campaign in the process. As oil rose from $90 a barrel in December to $147 in mid-July, conventional free-market wisdom… More »
Speculators at the Pumps
August 27, 2008 – RGE Monitor
Until a few weeks ago, while oil prices were surging, debate raged about the relative roles of economic fundamentals and speculation in boosting oil prices. Although oil prices have now fallen back from their peak, that debate must not be forgotten, for it has profound policy implications that government officials… More »
At Platts Energy Podium, EIA Chief Says Oil ‘Could’ Fall Below $100
August 26, 2008 – MarketWatch
Caruso said that the debate in Congress over more drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and the Gulf of Mexico as well as reining in oil speculators also had little to do with the decline in crude oil prices. Increasing oil "by small increments over long periods of time doesn't… More »
Hedge Funds Hedge Election Bets
August 26, 2008 – Wall Street Journal
The hedge fund lobby is gearing up for a fight. The funds have been on the defensive as Congress and regulators focus on tax policy, oil speculators, and a trading strategy that bets a company's stock price will fall, known as short-selling. More »
Hill to push for tighter regulations on oil speculators
August 26, 2008 – News and Tribune
Rep. Baron Hill, (D-IN) plans on pushing stricter regulations for oil speculators when Congress reconvenes in September. The idea of cracking down on oil speculators may sound like "Washington speak," but the congressman feels it could result in lowering prices at the pump for the short-term, said Katie Moreau, communications… More »
Webb says Democrats should not have let Congress adjourn
August 26, 2008 – Richmond Times-Monitor
Webb said the nation needs to explore the extent of oil offshore and if it finds it, leave it to the states to decide whether to drill. He said Congress also should have passed legislation seeking to curb oil speculation. More »
How airlines hedge fuel risks
August 26, 2008 – Futures Magazine
"The airline community believes that some $20 to $30 in today's oil price is due purely to speculation," says a spokesperson for JetBlue. An ATA spokesperson says that two weeks after the letters and Web campaign started, more than two million messages were sent to Congress about the issue. More »
Oil Markets, Speculators, and Vitol Group’s Controlling Stake
August 26, 2008 – Seeking Alpha
The move in oil markets over the past year has represented fundamental changes in the supply and demand for crude oil. Price appreciation of oil during the past three years has been the effect of large increases in demand from global expansion and similarly, demand destruction as the result of… More »
Gambling on black gold
August 26, 2008 – Baltimore Sun
Our view: Commodities markets need to be more tightly regulated to curb oil speculation. More »
Oil Speculators Cost Consumers $31 Billion this Summer (by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA))
August 26, 2008 – The Huffington Post
As oil prices continued to rise steadily on world markets during the early part of 2008, it became clear to many energy and economic experts around the world that supply and demand were not the only forces pushing prices higher. More »
CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton: Greater Transparency Can Help Stabilize Ag Markets
August 25, 2008 – GrainNet
Closing loopholes in reporting positions will provide greater transparency to market players, especially those who use over-the-counter trades, a Commissioner from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said during the Michigan Agri-Business Association's annual Summer Outlook Conference August 12-14. More »
K Street Files: Union Dues
August 25, 2008 – Roll Call
House Republicans will be taking a reprieve from talking on the House floor about their demand for a vote on offshore drilling, but don't expect the issue to die down during the conventions. The Air Transport Association is continuing its call for action, along with its Stop Oil Speculation Now… More »
The CFTC hasn’t cooperated so far
August 25, 2008 – The Times-Republican
Congress would love to legislate lower commodity prices by restricting commodity investment. The CFTC hasn't cooperated to date, failing to find any excessive speculation outside the boundaries as set today. Commodity funds, however, do not like the notoriety and favor low profiles. They are uncomfortable with Congress looking at them,… More »
Oil Market Manipulation: The FTC’s Latest Target in Fighting the Rising Cost of Oil
August 22, 2008 – Amateur Economists
The lawmakers felt that the main reasons for the high oil prices were excessive speculation and possible manipulation. The Excessive Energy Speculation Act tries to rein in speculation. To combat possible manipulation in the oil market, the FTC has proposed the anti-manipulation rule. This is an attempt by the FTC… More »
Are Oil Prices Rigged?
August 22, 2008 – Time
We've all read that speculators are driving oil prices artificially high - a claim that gets more interesting in light of oil's recent fall below $115. But maybe we're looking at it from the wrong perspective. Suppose that major suppliers in the oil industry are these manipulative speculators. Is it… More »
Oil Price Speculation Truths Begins to Leak into Mainstream Media
August 22, 2008 – American Chronicle
The experts and speculators will argue we need free markets and any interference will take away free trade. Well, in many cases they may be correct, however, when it comes to essential commodities of food and energy they are completely out of order. More »
Post article on oil market disputed
August 21, 2008 – Houston Chronicle
Speculators have been blamed by members of Congress and oil company executives for driving oil prices to record levels, prompting more than 10 legislative proposals aimed at limiting speculators in the market. The agency said the 81 percent figure cited in the Post story seems to count an entire group… More »
Washington and National Oil Marketers Associations Decry Energy Speculators Pushing Oil Prices Up
August 21, 2008 – MarketWatch
Energy Supplies Are Up and Demand Is Down, Yet Speculators Continue to Profit at the Expense of American Families and Businesses. More »
So There Is an Oil Cabal After All
August 21, 2008 – The Motley Fool
I've got no beef with speculators. A trading firm's presence helps more than it hurts - unless it gets so large that it can move the whole market. That situation now appears to be more serious than skeptics previously suspected. More »
Oil speculators dominate trading, driving up gas prices & exploiting gaps in govt oversight
August 21, 2008 – St. Petersburg Times
Last month Vitol had locked up 11 percent of all the oil contracts on the regulated New York Mercantile Exchange, the Post reports. You may recall the name Vitol from last year's headlines, when the company pleaded guilty to paying secret kickbacks to the Iraqi government in exchange for oil… More »
Oil speculators few, but huge, CFTC says
August 21, 2008 – The Huffington Post
"Speculators in the energy futures markets play a much larger role than previously thought," said U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI). "It is now even harder to accept the agency's laughable assertion that excessive speculation has not contributed to rising energy prices," he said. More »
A Few Speculators Dominate Vast Market for Oil Trading
August 21, 2008 – Washington Post
Regulators had long classified a private Swiss energy conglomerate called Vitol as a trader that primarily helped industrial firms that needed oil to run their businesses. More »
Energy policy and the speculator
August 21, 2008 – Boston Globe
THE energy futures market seems arcane, but what goes on there determines the price of gasoline, home heating oil, and ultimately just about anything that requires energy to manufacture. More »
Meet the Mystery Oil Speculator
August 21, 2008 – New York Times
Oil prices have retreated from their frothy peak of nearly $150 a barrel. But Washington hasn't abandoned its pursuit of speculators in the commodities market, a quest that some fear could throw a wrench into one of Wall Street's most important profit engines. More »
Heating fears are rising
August 21, 2008 – Seacoast Online
Jamie Py, the president of the Maine Oil Dealers Association, said the underlying reason for the increasing oil prices is supply and demand, and demand is up worldwide. However, that said, he is extremely concerned about oil speculation, which he said is another important factor. More »
Commodity Carnage: Where to Turn Next?
August 21, 2008 – Seeking Alpha
There's nobody like an investment banker to deliver yesterday's news tomorrow, and charge you dearly for it. Goldman Sachs has turned bullish on the dollar, while Merrill Lynch is calling crude oil down to $80. If bandwagon jumping was an Olympic sport, these guys would have more gold medals than… More »
‘Speculator’ in Oil Market Is Key Player in Real Sector
August 21, 2008 – Wall Street Journal
When U.S. futures regulators recently reclassified one of the largest traders in the oil market as a speculator, they didn't identify the firm. But people familiar with the matter now say the company whose activities helped change perceptions about the escalating pace of oil speculation is Vitol Group, a large… More »
Are Oily Characters Behind Crude’s Price Move?
August 20, 2008 – Seeking Alpha
As I've been saying for months, it is "animal spirits" - speculation - that drove crude oil prices higher while fundamentals deteriorated. As long as all trading activity is transparent and prices aren't being manipulated, there's nothing wrong with this. Whether it has all been above board, we're about to… More »
Coleman on energy: Every option needs to be on the table
August 19, 2008 – Crookston Daily Times
"I've held bipartisan hearings on this, and what we've learned is that speculators bet on scarcity of the resource, so if we commit to more domestic production that will have an impact on prices," Coleman explained. "If you say we're making a commitment to all these things, you challenge the… More »
How do speculators affect the price of crude oil?
August 18, 2008 – PBS- The Business Desk
I think speculation is a factor, perhaps a large factor, in the price of oil lately. And indeed, the price of oil has dropped by almost 20 percent since I wrote that, in response to an e-mail here. But I should warn you: lots of very thoughtful economists consider me… More »
Why’s oil so pricey? It’s Big Oil’s secret
August 18, 2008 – The Post-Standard
A trader at Goldman Sachs boasted several months ago that "we move the price of oil when we want to move the price of oil." Mike Greenberg, a former big shot with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, recently remarked that large banks and hedge funds control 80 percent of oil… More »
Senators call for investigation of CFTC report
August 18, 2008 – Reuters
Several U.S. lawmakers urged the Inspector General of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission this week to investigate a study released by the futures market regulator that concluded speculators are not to blame for high oil prices. More »
Oil speculation bigger than we knew
August 18, 2008 – Chicago Tribune
It's still unclear how much these speculators, the extent of whose activities were previously underestimated, contributed to surging oil prices. But the fact that all this new speculative activity was found does drive home how much more there is to learn about these players in energy markets and how they… More »
Oil speculators, not gas station owners, to blame for skyrocketing prices at the pump
August 16, 2008 – Caspar Star Tribune
The real culprits are oil speculators who have artificially driven prices through the roof by aggressively trading oil futures. Historically, futures markets were an important way for businesses in industries that depend on fuel - such as shipping, tourism or agriculture - to ensure some amount of price predictability. But… More »
Energy prices: FSA is too soft on oil speculators, says former US regulator
August 15, 2008 – The Guardian
Joining the debate about the role of speculators in the price of oil, Michael Greenberger, formerly of the commodity futures trading commission and now a professor at the University of Maryland, accused the City regulator of letting "the British people down". More »
Data Raise Questions On Role of Speculators
August 15, 2008 – CNBC
Data emerging on players in the commodities markets show that speculators are a larger piece of the oil market than previously known, a development enlivening an already tense election-year debate about traders' influence. More »
Regulate Speculators? (Video)
August 15, 2008 – CNBC
Speculators may be bigger a problem in the oil markets than first thought, with Dan Gilligan, American Petroleum Marketers; Kenneth Green, American Enterprise Institute; and CNBC's Melissa Lee. More »
‘Cheap’ Oil Becomes Relative Idea
August 14, 2008 – The Wall Street Journal
Even Though Crude Has Retreated From Record Highs, Prices Still Buoy Energy Firms, Crimp Retail, Airlines. More »
FTC offers rules to fight oil market manipulation
August 14, 2008 – The Wall Street Journal
The Federal Trade Commission proposed U.S. government rules on Wednesday to fight manipulation in the oil market, where prices hit a record $147 a barrel last month. More »
What The Airlines Want From Washington
August 13, 2008 – Forbes
If the airlines of the U.S. were single issue voters, there's no doubt what that issue would be: fuel prices. More »
Much ado about oil speculation
August 13, 2008 – Financial Times
"If regulators really wanted to limit speculation in the oil market, they should keep the shorter-term futures contracts and eliminate the more speculative six-month futures contracts." That's the conclusion of a recent paper by Lonnie Stevans and David Sessions of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business. More »
Help Us Solve U.S. Airlines’ Pressing Fuel Problem
August 11, 2008 – WebWire
An open letter to customers from the Sabre Holdings Team. More »
Speculators escape the rap
August 11, 2008 – Flight Global
Under pressure not only from airlines, but from constituents representing other commodity markets such as corn and wheat, members of the House and Senate did introduce their own versions of energy reform bills just before the recess. But notably absent from each offering was regulation to directly address speculative trading… More »
Oil Prices: Blame Speculators
August 11, 2008 – BusinessWeek
Unrestricted speculation is what's really responsible for the wild swings in oil prices, hurting motorists and economies the world over. Pro or Con? More »
Opinion: Rampant Speculation
August 8, 2008 – The Tripoli Post
Speculators buy contracts for future delivery of oil months, or years, in advance. When the delivery date approaches they sell those contracts to someone who actually wants the oil at that time. They make money only if the price of oil on the spot market is higher than what they… More »
Strategic Reserves and Oil Prices
August 8, 2008 – RGE Monitor
So how can the price be brought in line with market fundamentals? Davidson suggests selling between 70 and 105 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Doing so would significantly reduce the price of oil, squeeze speculators, and alleviate some of the government's current budget deficit. More »