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The Hike in Oil Prices: Speculation-But Not Manipulation

Moira Herbst | 30.05.2008 22:02 | Analysis | World

When oil jumps as much as it has, doubling since May 2007, it's natural to assume that something striking must have happened. In the past five years, investment in index funds tied to commodities has grown from $13 billion to $260 billion.

Flush with cash from investors of all stripes, traders have bid prices up and up.

to read the article published in: Spiegel, 5/30/2008, click on
 http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,556519,00.html

Moira Herbst
- e-mail: mbatko@lycos.com
- Homepage: http://www.foodfirst.org

Comments

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Gambling on Peak Oil

30.05.2008 22:43

The fundamental reason for the prices going up is peak oil, but what is also happening is that some speculators have read up sites like  http://theoildrum.com/ and are speculating on peak oil having been reached...

"Analysts have found that investors spooked by the peak oil theory — the belief that crude production has topped out and is in decline — are partly behind the soaring oil prices."

 http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=296867272526661

It's a sick system in which some get rich speculating that peak oil means peak food and therefore increase the rate at which millions starve to death...

Chris