oil market and today represents more than 50% of oil purchases on the commodity market. Speculative purchasing involve buying a whole lot of a commodity you don't actually need with the anticipation that someone else does need it eventually and will pay you more than you bought it for to get it. Think of it like domain squatting, but with commodities like oil, oj, etc. I definitely agree that speculation can drive commodity prices up. And I agree that it sucks. But is it moral for the government to step in and tell people who is allowed to buy a commodity and when they can sell it and how many times you can sell it? That's micromanagement control. I realize it may be constitutional since the trading crosses state lines, but is it moral? Edit: More researching on the fact and discussing it with economic types brings new information. Its just a *theory* that oil speculation is driving up costs. The counter argument is that if the oil speculator middlemen were not buying the oil...
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