Let me see: Stagnating world production output for 3 years and counting with a growing demand sure can not be the reason... Who is this idiot anyway? Oh, a Senator, that explains.... By the way speculation =/= manipulation. Most everybody in the stockmarket is speculating, the only difference is the timeframe...
Of course. It could be that the marketplace finally "woke up" to the situation... and that's the correct reason for the price increase of the last year. You all know how the markets roll... "Denial, denial, denial.. then, HOLY CRAP!" Could have been the case for oil.
Not only has oil consumption grown at an anemic 3% per year, but Asia has cut their oil consumption 31% just last month. That was in part because China lifted fuel prices just 17%. Imagine how far they will cut back if their governments fully repeal subsidies. And I love how the oil bulls want to price current oil based on 2030 figures, while assuming oil production will decline, rather than increase. You are the true moonbats.
The (idiot) congress should be looking directly at the Federal Reserve and themselves. Not the traders. A bubble can only be developed by a catalyst. The housing bubble was created by excess credit, now the commodity bubble is created by the devaluing of the dollar over the past 6 years. The fed will not support the dollar with real policy even now. Their hot air rhetoric is running out of steam. Essentially all commodities are priced in dollars and there is no policy in the US to support the dollar long term, it will just get worse. If they punish the traders, it will just decrease liquidity, cause bigger moves higher and shortages. I can't believe any serious trader would even consider the bullshit coming out of our government right now. Speculation is the result, not the cause of the problem. We have an out of control government printing money to support wars, profiteering, and now bailing out a banking system that lost everything due to out of control risk taking.