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FBN's Peter Barnes on consumer and public interest advocates considering launching a new attack on oil speculators.
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Well it is game on by the way the public interest groups in the target in their cross has oil speculators.
A -- bonds is inside the beltway with the fact -- balance -- always paid up.
And -- -- while demonstrators hit the streets last spring in New York Chicago San Francisco and five other cities.
To call for crackdowns on legal speculation and that thinking about doing this again.
At a minimum this group of consumer and public interest advocates which include the Consumer Federation of America and Americans for a finance reform.
Are calling for regulators and congress to step up regulation of what they say is excessive speculation and manipulation.
That -- gambling must be stopped.
It will not have anything to do with production none of that money -- to production.
None of it goes to liquidity.
It's all casino gambling.
And nothing productive.
Now their conflicting studies on the impact of speculation on oil and gas prices but to economists from the Saint Louis Federal Reserve Bank.
Kind of a respected organization.
Added fuel to this debate in a study last month they found that over the last decade.
Speculation accounted for 15% of the rise in oil prices over the last decade second only to rising demand that 40%.
-- market advocates don't deny the impact of speculators but caution against regulating them too much.
As they work both sides of the trade.
Even those speculators can drive up prices in the near term they can also drive down prices in the near term with expectations.
That more supply is going to reach the market.
And again I think that's where they play an important role in cushioning the market in terms of supply and demand.
Hedging right.
Legal hedging and things like that that is that CFTC the commodity futures trading commission and congress are considering some new rules that public advocates will say well to help will help moderate.
Speculation.
Actually very interesting I think there are those that would argue that says speculation does indeed add liquidity to the system but -- thank you very much -- -- very and are setting Agca.
