Now wait a minute - oil speculators leave the oil market. The price of oil slumps. Seems to me the point has been made that speculators are artificially elevating the price of oil, or exaggerating disequilibria when they occur. And please don’t start talking to me about economics, I’m better versed than most. I’m looking at results and outcomes here.
the fact remains that demand for oil is not elastic.
we may use less of it but we will always use some.
More when the ‘global warming/climate change’ patterns
hit and blizzards/whiteouts blanket the NE/atlantic seaboard.
DITTO. Market was design for users of oil to lock in prices, not non users to use it as a casino to distort the swings to the point that they cause recessions and booms.
“And please don’t start talking to me about economics, I’m better versed than most. I’m looking at results and outcomes here.”
Drawing conclusions about results and outcomes has nothing to do with economics. Right.
And you’re so well-versed in economics that you don’t even want to talk about them. Right.
Without oil speculators buying contracts, there will be a shortage of oil. The price may drop, but it may not be available. At prices too low, there is no incentive to produce or distribute.
If you are economics experts you should know that speculators can make just as much money in a falling market as a rising market. Why would speculation drive it only up?