A US legislative bill aimed at curbing speculation in energy markets by forcing participants to prove they could take delivery of energy contracts was proposed last week by John Larson, a Democrat congressman.The bill — the Consumer Oil Price Protection Act, HR 6264 — which Larson filed in the US House of Representatives on Friday, would give the inspector general of the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission greater autonomy and authority.The premise of the bill — that speculative buying has been the cause of the price of oil reaching its near record highs — however, has been offset by a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) stating that fundamentals and not speculation are driving oil prices.Larson’s proposed legislation is popular with US voters who are seeking a scapegoat for the...