Of course there is not a completely free market in oil. Corrupt governments and a suppliers cartel really is messing thing up. Don’t blame the “speculators”, blame these evil governments.
I would agree with that statement. Instead of blaming the corrupt govts, what we have instead is the corrupt govts displacing the blame on the “speculators”.
I’m sure there have been distortions due to speculation but I tend to think that any cure is likely worse than the original disease.