Few in the oil market accept that the price spike of 2008 was caused by speculators – yet alternative explanations are unconvincing. And most say another bubble will come. Even if pure market forces are the cause, politicians will seek defences against 2008 repeating itself. As Sian Williams reports, the industry does not want a clampdown on speculation, but has little to offer regulators as an alternative.
With a global recession dominating the headlines, worries about cripplingly high oil prices are far from most people’s minds.
But it was just a year ago that the crude oil futures price was charging further and further into uncharted territory: $100, $110, $120...
Politicians, the media and public were in uproar, especially in the oil-addicted US. Why was oil being pushed so high? Who was making a mint out of it? Surely speculators were to blame – and why wasn’t anyone...