Word: oiling
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...oil-futures market is tiny compared with the physical oil market: less than 3% of the world's oil consumption over the next year is accounted for in the open interest - the contracts currently being traded - at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). To put it in perspective, Saudi Arabia alone produces four times that much oil. Consider the leverage that the futures market allows - you can trade more than 10 times your money in oil - and suddenly every dollar you put into the futures market controls well over $300 worth of oil. We can put a price...
...Most disturbing, the U.S. government cannot possibly regulate the global market. Oil is an international commodity, traded by Americans and non-Americans alike on exchanges both in the U.S. and overseas. The U.S. should not outsource markets by placing a divide between America and the rest of the world. Do regulators hoping to ease oil prices really want the dollar price of oil determined in Dubai, the backyard playground of the largest oil exporter? With the proposed regulation, foreign oil suppliers will have a greater futures-market share. The oil market will become more susceptible to manipulation by these suppliers...
...Another common misconception is that speculators only buy and hold assets. More accurately, speculators try to benefit from fluctuations in prices. In other words, speculators cannot profit from sustained high prices, only from changing prices. So, yes, the recent volatility in the oil market can certainly be attributed to speculation, but speculation cannot support an extended price rally. Major players like banks, on the other hand, are more than just pure speculators, having the resources to drive prices...
...bailed out are major players in the energy markets: Citigroup, through its Phibro commodities-trading subsidiary, and Goldman Sachs, through its energy-trading desk. Banks are most likely playing a key role in the current run by putting the bailout money to good use: to continue the bid for oil. Again, just a fraction of the bailout is enough to corner the market and rig the price of crude - not that any of these players would dare...
...There is no doubt that the banks and other speculators need accountability and transparency. But smaller speculators - like hedge funds and other trading firms - play a role in maintaining liquidity and reducing the impact that oil suppliers have in participating in the market. Those speculators might benefit from volatility, but without them there would be even more volatility, resulting from radically rising prices. (Read "Black Gold on the Last Frontier...