It seems that we (not the TOD 'we', but the collective society 'we') have been conducting an ongoing witch hunt since around $70-$80 oil to pinpoint an 'explanation' for our high oil and gas prices that's unrelated to finite geologic flow limits or Malthusian themes (e.g. benign). Greedy oil companies, dastardly OPEC plots, and off-limits drilling of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve and Outer Continental Shelf are among the reasons oft floated in the conventional media for why oil has risen in price over 10 fold in the last decade. Yesterday, a report from a credible institution was released detailing why at least one of the high oil price bogeymen, 'the speculators', are not to blame. In this report, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), threw cold water on the recent rhetoric in Congressional testimonies and television commentary that high oil prices are caused by investment speculators.

The Oil Drum