SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “Academics, economists say that the costs of oil is 20% to 50% speculation.” (Sen. Harry Reid, Remarks on the Senate Floor, 07/22/08)
“ACADEMICS AND ECONOMISTS” ACTUALLY SAY “IT’S NOT SPECULATION, IT IS SUPPLY AND DEMAND”
WARREN BUFFETT: “It's not speculation, it is supply and demand. … We don't have excess capacity in the world anymore, and that's what you're seeing in oil prices.” (Warren Buffett, Chairman & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway, CNBC Interview, 6/25/08)
WALTER LUKKEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION: “We haven't evidence that speculators are broadly driving these prices.” (“Hitting Rock: Dems Oblivious On Oil,” New Hampshire Union Leader, 07/13/08)
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY: “There is little evidence that large investment flows into the futures market are causing an imbalance between supply and demand, and are therefore contributing to high oil prices… Blaming speculation is an easy solution which avoids taking the necessary steps to improve supply-side access and investment or to implement measures to improve energy efficiency.” (International Energy Agency, Medium-Term Oil Market Report, July 2008)
FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN BEN BERNANKE: “If financial speculation were pushing all prices above the level consistent with the fundamentals of supply and demand, we would expect inventories of crude oil and petroleum products to increase as supply rose and demand fell. But, in fact, available data on oil inventories shows notable declines over the past year.” (Ben Bernanke, Chairman Of The Federal Reserve, 7/15/2008)
DANIEL YERGIN, CHAIRMAN OF CAMBRIDGE ENERGY RESEARCH ASSOCIATES: “When an issue is this hot, it would be so much easier if there was a single reason to blame… But calling it speculation is way too simplistic.” ("Congress Looks for a Culprit for Rising Oil Prices," The New York Times, 6/25/08)
JOHN CHAPMAN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: “The truth is that increased speculation in oil futures is not a cause of rising oil prices, but rather an effect of those prices, which have skyrocketed due to growth in global demand, geopolitical instability, and constricted supply in several producing countries. (John Chapman, Researcher at the American Enterprise Institute, 7/16/2008)
MICHAEL HAIGH, FORMER CHIEF ASSOCIATE CHIEF ECONOMIST WITH THE CFTC: “If Congress is literally going over the CFTC's head and talking about imposing legislation or making the CFTC exercise its emergency powers to limit excess speculation when they don't even know what that means. I don't even know what excess speculation means.” (Michael Haigh, Senior Commodity Analyst At Societe Generale Corporate And Investment Banking And Former Associate Chief Economist With The CFTC, 6/30/2008)
CRAIG PIRRONG, MEMBER OF THE CFTC ENERGY MARKETS ADVISORY COMMITTEE: “There's no evidence of speculative influence. Speculators are not contributing to the demand for physical oil as they almost always roll positions prior to delivery.” (Craig Pirrong, Professor Of Finance At The University Of Houston, Member, CFTC Energy Markets Advisory Committee, 6/24/08)
PAUL KRUGMAN, NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST: “On any given day, expectations determine the price; but the spot market also has to clear, and the way this happens is that excess supply must be added to physical stocks. Even with fairly inelastic supply and demand, any large speculative deviation from the 'fundamental' price should show up in a noticeable increase in inventories.” (Paul Krugman, New York Times Columnist, 6/28/08)
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