Study finds dollar correlation and heavy speculation drove oil prices

A paper criticising the influence of speculators in the oil market has been published by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

It found that the correlation between oil price and the value of the dollar rose substantially in the past decade in comparison to the decade before. The correlation between 2001 and the present day totalled -0.82, a big jump from only -0.08 between 1986 and 2000.

The paper continued, criticising the role speculators play in the market. Though it acknowledged that speculators play an important...