Speculators Driving Up the Cost of Oil

[Merkava_4]

The Seattle Times

Quote:
Ramm, president of Inland Oil of Ephrata, Wash., was more plain-spoken. "Excessive speculation on energy-trading facilities is the fuel that is driving this runaway train in crude-oil prices," he said.

Others testifying at the hearing said speculation by investment banks, hedge funds, institutional investors and others may be responsible for more than half of the skyrocketing price of crude oil. The Federal Trade Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), they said, have failed to investigate.

 

[Schmoe]

Well, we are back up to 130 plus today. Hold on for the ride.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Well, they drove up the cost of houses.

 

[wavinwayne]

$134.15 right now.

BOHICA - from OPEC & your friends on Wall Street

Bass-turds!

 

[bretfraz]

Something I've been saying on these pages for a month.

Oil has jumped $12 a barrel in less than 48 hours. That's almost 10%. Based on what? US jobless claims, unemployment rate, weakening US dollar, some Israeli minister saying an attack on Iran is "unavoidable" and Morgan Stanley saying oil will hit $150/barrel by the 4th of July. Wonder how much money Morgan's investors stand to gain by that prediction.....

Oil went up $6.00 overnight. Based on what? Fears that increasing prices will reduce demand? SAY WHAT? I thought that price goes up when demand goes up. So now the new paradigm is prices go up when demand goes OR down? Yeah, right.....

Noteable quoteables:

"Investors have used oil and other commodities as a hedge against the weaker dollar and inflation as the housing crisis and high fuel prices batter the U.S. economy."

"Financial money is flowing back into oil and commodities,"

"When the market is in such a strong rally, there is a tendency to read the bullish headlines rather than the bearish ones."

 

[Steve S]

The main reason is our beloved U.S Government Senators and representatives voted in over and over who main interest is to serve their favorite lobbiest.It would be nice if taxes and waste of those tax dollars would upset the people like the gas prices which seems the same as the enviroment warming joke and the carbon credits ..
Follow the money.

 

[Steve S]

The main reason is our beloved U.S Government Senators and representatives voted in over and over who main interest is to serve their favorite lobbiest.It would be nice if taxes and waste of those tax dollars would upset the people like the gas prices which seems the same as the enviroment warming joke and the carbon credits ..
Follow the money.

 

[sciphi]

Hmm, let's see, gasoline supplies are up sharply, refineries have left their maintenance periods yet are still under-utilized and nobody is pumping crude anywhere near capacity because there's too much oil on the market right now and not enough demand to sop it up. So where does the price go? Up, of course!

I'd love to see some bigwigs lose their shirts over this. Oh, wait, won't happen, courtesy of the US taxpayers.

 

[buster]

Quote:
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Oil soared by close to $6 on Friday to get
within touching distance of all time record highs on fears of Israeli action
against Iran and weakness in the U.S. dollar.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The Seattle Times



Welcome to 3 days ago. Oil is now viewed as the ultimate hedge against Doomsday, but it it is taking us toward it.

 

[Schmoe]

Glad I didn't major in business because all this khrap going on right now would go against everything I would have been taught and I would start loosing my mind and questioning my existance. One thing I did read, which again is against the market moves we are seeing today, is that one of the asian countries have dropped their subsidies on oil and people are protesting the higher prices of oil. Maybe that demand will declline sharply and maybe, just maybe, the prices will go down. But one thing if I was a major investor at a major brokerage firm, there is no way in #ell I'd be telling my investors to buy oil right now. It has to come down.....now this is based on common sense and public reaction from what I'm seeing at the ground level. Those investors are totally out of sync with reality unless they read it somewhere. I hope they are get stuck in the arshe, but then Uncle Sam will bail them out. Does anybody remember the 80's????

 

[Pablo]

I have a solution! Nationalize the oil companies.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
I have a solution! Nationalize the oil companies.


Yea really since Septa is so successful. And I know you are joking but in a sense that what led to the gas lines in 74 when the Government regulated the cost of gasoline and as a result no more oil came into the country.

Even though I am almost 100% into currencies and energy...I am not trading right now especially I am not buying buying OIL (I don't own any). What is the point making money if there isn't a country in which to spend it.

 

[rshaw125]

This is our own fault. People are investing in oil futures as a hedge against inflation and the falling dollar. Why do we have a falling dollar? Because of our massive national debt and massive trade deficit.

 

[bretfraz]

Originally Posted By: Schmoe
One thing I did read, which again is against the market moves we are seeing today, is that one of the asian countries have dropped their subsidies on oil and people are protesting the higher prices of oil. Maybe that demand will declline sharply and maybe, just maybe, the prices will go down.


It was India that raised the price of gas and diesel (well, reduced the gov't subsidy) by 10% the other day, and raised the price of heating oil by 17%.

One US gallon of diesel in India now costs $3.00 US ($0.80 per liter).

India and China are the two largest nations that subsidize fuel prices for their citizens. No wonder their demand for oil has been increasing.

 

[buster]

We've had the short run solution in front of us for years, but have not tapped into it. Unbelievable.

 

[CivicFan]

We may have a bubble on our hands. The question is how to profit from it if you don't want to buy oil futures. So far, the oil stocks are not performing as I would have liked.

 

[Steve S]

If there is a bubble seems to me it is not the best time to get in to the bubble though what do I know.

 

[oilyriser]

Buy low, sell high. Money is cheap right now. Will it keep going down, or start rising back soon? Only one guy knows that...

 

[Patman]

It makes me so angry, the price goes up because of some moron at Morgan Stanley who opens his big fat mouth and tells us he thinks oil will hit $150 a barrel by July 4! I swear they are saying stuff like this just to make it happen!

As a result of that spike, Toronto's gas prices went up 22 cents per gallon overnight!! It's now $5.10 per gallon for regular here!