No Big Surprise - Oil Prices Artificially Inflated

From the AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Speculation by large investors -- and not supply and demand for oil -- were a primary reason for the surge in oil prices during the first half of the year and the more recent price declines, an independent study concluded Wednesday.
The report by Masters Capital Management said investors poured $60 billion into oil futures markets during the first five months of the year as oil prices soared from $95 a barrel in January to $145 a barrel by July.
Since then, these investors have withdrawn $39 billion from those markets as prices have retreated dramatically, the report said. Oil traded at just under $1.02 a barrel Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

I've been saying this until I am blue in the face.  I would be interested to see how deep this goes and if there will ever be an investigation as to whether the oil companies themselves were pushing these prices.


http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/10/news/economy/oil.ap/index.htm