Study pins oil-price volatility on speculation

Nothing is going to take us back to the heyday of cheap energy. Americans have been fortunate enough to live like royalty for years, now no matter how much we rush to some percieved source, whether its more oil or coal (clean or not), sun, wind, you-name-it, nothing is going to provide us with the same amount of energy. Therefore, AS we debate which ones will provide some energy, we had better damn well learn to live with a lot less. A LOT LESS.

Stay healthy because you'll need to walk/ride your bike, garden, and do a thousand regular activities by hand instead of relying on a machine. Learn to repair things, and forget about fashion. The media is not telling you about this because its owned by corporations (just a few) and the last thing they want is for you to stop spending money like water. If you learn the truth and simplify your life, it will just make the collapse happen more quickly, but its going to happen anyway, so why not be prepared?

Once I can remember the Great George Bush saying there was no such thing as global warming, now he is all for doing something. Does anybody know how we won world war II? We did it by sacrificing, and by the industrial base of this country. We now need to sacrifice by paying higher taxes, more for a gallon of gas and put the brain power of this country to work getting us off the oil tit. The next great technology is the energy technology, it will make the information technology look like the model T

you go gurl (kate), once those few company have sucked the last dollar out of this country they will live somewhere else. leaving behind a third rate banana republic. It strike me kinda of funny how after 911 the great George bush comes out and say go shopping america. a economy based on consumer spending is going to fail, for some reason we have decided to sell off our industrial base, the one we used to win world war II.

Keep in mind that the speculators were allowed to do this because of an amendment to a farm bill added on at 3AM one morning in the Senate. It allows speculation outside of the SEC's regulations, outside of the US, with no margins, so that they can bid the prices up to the moon if they want. The author of this amendment--Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, Mc Cain's campaign advisor on finance & the next Secretary of the Treasury, who will also be in charge of Fannie & Freddie, despite the fact that he was the one most responsible for the sub-prime mortgage mess. Kinda gives you the warm fuzzies, don't it?

I've been saying this for months. I guess the evidence finally caught up to common sense. I want to know why oil is now down 30% from it's high of $147/barrel which represented a price of $4.39 per gallon in my IL subdivision to $102/barrel which represents a price per gallon of $4.09!! It seems odd to me that gas prices easily went up at the same record pace that oil prices did but now that oil prices have dramtically dropped gas prices have seen a 7% decline instead of the 30% deline that oil took. If gas prices had declined at the same rate as oil prices we should be seeing prices of $3.07 per gallon at the pump instead of $4.09 per gallon at the pump. Will no one represent the people on this issue? Will no one look at the price gouging that has and continues to occur. This is the same email I sent my state representatives because someone needs to stand up for us afterall we're paying them enough.

As far as WHO was investing in it, there was an article already published on that.

I guess my link didn't work. Google the company Vitol and you'll find the answers.

The republicans have wanted to let their friends drill anywhere and everywhere but couldn't get anything passed. They are getting kicked out of office, so what better time to run up oil prices, do nothing about it, and try to get the public behind uplimited, unregulated drilling.

I am a commodities broker in gold and silver. There are a few things that you have to remember. Any speculators or group of speculators that drive prices up and down artificially, will get caught "short or long" in the long run, and will lose money. Supply and demand and the value of the currency purchasing the commodity drives price. The value of the dollar has been week, thus gold, silver, copper, oil, etc. are more expensive. China, the US, India, and other nations have been buying commodities more than any other time in history. Yes, speculation occurs, but it only affects about 10% of the price and then stabilizes as speculators, buyers, and sellers take advantage of the mismatch in prices and drive the price to where it should be. Remeber the Hunt brothers and the price of silver in 1979?
Also, this report is politically motivated. Congress is in a pinch. The environmental lobby is pushing them to stop exploration. Their influential constituents are pushing them not to drill. On the other hand, the non-influencial constituents (general public, who can't see past tomorrow) want drilling and exploration in areas known to have oil. They also don't want to be shown as flip flopping ( changing position based on new information used to be a strength) and the political fodder that it provides.
Finally, the oil companies and speculators are an easy target. Rather than blame everyone, we need to develop alternatives (moon shot scale), and let the radical Muslims and communist (south American and Russians) use it for brushing their teeth and bathing in it.
With the right leadership and money, this country could drive the price of gasoline down to less than $1.00 per gallon in seven years. Nuclear, solar, oil, natural gas, bio-fuels, and wind, combined with increased battery development could put an end to this problem and allow us to argue and debate the next one. The people need to speak in no uncertain terms.

BOY! That is a surprise! gee whiz! I never thought of that!

why is the congress going to let the alternative energy tax cut die, is it because they give to big of a tax cut to big oil? No it is because big oil runs the country. It is no longer we the people but we the big business

The Government not only thinks we are stupid, they can prove it. After all, they only educate their own children, not America's, they should know.

Item one:This is Enron style market manpulation, the same method employed to rig the California electricity market. Because we allow people like McCain and Dodd and Lieberman and McConnell and Levine, all these Senators, to return each year to govern, we richly deserve the abuse.

Item Two: If America is dumb enough to self flagellate for 8 years under the intellectual supertrain that is W, we are a cinch to shoe in part of the problem multi-millionaire dump your wife for the blond hottie Senator that is McCain. Good luck to you and yours spunky. I hope we survive the War against Iran of 2009 an beyond as we join Georgia to die it up with Russia. Hail McCain. Hail Cheney...sorry sir...don't tase me...HAIL MCCAIN! HAIL CHENEY! HAIL BUSH! OWWW!

Item Three, to women: With the poor and non Republican males off to fight in Georgia and the Great Persia Blood Bath of Iran, remember to save your metal and rubber scraps. Collection will be Thursdays.

Unattractive Women: If you are unable to pay your rent, you can live in the shanty towns that line the toxic waste dumps and prospect for metal. Bring gloves and boots. If you become sick and can't get off you sleeping mat, you can serve as a Camp Hostess.

Attractive women: Relax. You will always have value in Republica! On your knees!

Item Four: Good video on YouTube. "Roll Out The Tinman, We'll Have A Barrel Of Fun."

PS I realize Obama is hard to vote for, for many people. But he is better than Kerry...WTF can't beat 'em join 'em. HAIL MCCAIN! HAIL CHENEY! HAIL BUSH! I'm calling my broker and swithing to oil futures.

you know....all you clowns who want to drag the polititions into every GD thing you post on are a bunch of knuckleheads. The Republicans this....the Democrats that...8 years of the same is McCain....12 years ago the Enron loopholes passed during a Democratic administration. I got news for you. If you think that either one of these parties has the answers, you a bigger bunch of morons then the polititions you bash. You aren't changing anything by voting the same parties in year after year. Piss off.

In the aftermath of 09-11 the stock market was shut down for a week or so.. Despite dire predictions to the contrary (mostly by denizens of Wall Street) the country did not fall apart - the finances of our nation did not go the way of the doe doe bird - and the nation survived that interruption very well.. My suggestion would be to try shutting down the stock exchanges for three months as an experiment in keeping the economy stable.. If it was determined that things were going badly - open it up before the three month time had expired - but my feeling is that everything would run smoothly.. Enron is mentioned - the housing / mortgage situation is mentioned - and of course oil.. The common denominator seems to be the stock market - so lets try living without it for a while... An interesting experiment if nothing else - and of course the denizens of the stock market would have to getr real jobs and work for a living - same as their victims...

gamerk2- your question is a good one. There still is a considerable reserve base in the United States. For example in the deep water Gulf (water depths from 1000-7000') the industry has discovered lower Tertiary reserves on the order of 4-5 BBO with more to come, in ND and MT (and Saskatchewan) Bakken oil reserves could be as much as 2-4BBO. In Alaska much potential remains for oil and (now that a natural gas pipeline is in the works) natural gas. Also the US is the only country in the world that has not explored it entire continental shelf so there could be lots there. Unfortunately when the country consumes somewhere around 18 MMBO/day, 4 Billion barrels only last about 220 days. There's the rub, you can blame speculators, politicians, conspiracies, the corruption that any huge industry attracts, hell anything you want, but the reality is there is only so much and we use alot of it, so sometime in the near future the world is going to realize that production is declining and then (if we don't have VIABLE alternatives) @!$%# will hit the proverbial fan. (Let's see 200 years of oil that the conspiracy types say is in a secret field in Alaska 200x365-18mmbopd=1.3 trillion barrels. wow, the largest field ever discovered, Gwahar in Saudi Arabia. has only 70 billion barrels recoverable, so those conspiracy types must know something that the whole of the very competitive oil industry doesn't.)
Also CO oil shale has a tough future enviornmentally and technically. It takes large amounts of water and there's not a hugh oversupply in the arid west.

Anyway, it is time to stop pointing fingers and start treating all energy types as a critical resource, one to be developed with enviornmental repect. We can try to blame everyone else for the high price of energy, but we are as much personably responsible as anyone else.

Also remember the best enviornmental protection usually occurs in areas with a healthy economy not those places of high populations and a third world economy.
(And no, I don't work for "Big Oil", I'm just a very small exploration Company)

Oil should not be traded on Wall Street. The speculators that have been the primary cause in the increase of oil prices must be stopped. The sell when THEY think the sky is falling. The US government should stop the trading on the open market and find another way to control oil futures on hard evidence.That way we can address these issues with the govt.. And they will be responsible to the American people.

CCdesign. Get real $1 BBL oil ! The cost for WATER disposal in oil production is usually 1-5 dollars a barrel (in the US). A typical well in the US can cost 3 miilion and recover 250-500,000 bbls ( with no risk or other investment costs ). That's $5-15 / BBL front end. Do the math. Energy is too important to not know the real facts

CCdesign. Sorry, I thought you said $1 BBL not $1 gallon.

Why give CFTC any authority. They clearly have neglected to use what they have. Another worthless governmental agency. Fire the bunch of them.

did they happen to mention the names of the funds or banks or whoever was speculating?

i mean it takes huge money to do this. your 401k didnt make this happen

they never name names. wonder why?

1. the names would send the american people over the edge especially in an election year.

2. the story is just that a story. no proof of anything. alot of us said this months ago that the market was being manipulated.."they said supply/demand" now demand is down "they say speculators"

hmmmm seems those that say maybe the ones that are guilty