Oil-price manipulation: the next Libor?

CNN Money website ^ | May 17, 2013 | James O'Toole

[RayChuang88]

Some of the world's biggest oil companies may have a new mess on their hands.

The European Commission raided the offices of Shell, BP and Norway's Statoil this week as part of an investigation into suspected attempts to manipulate global oil prices spanning more than a decade.

None of the companies have been accused of wrongdoing, but the controversy has brought back memories of the Libor rate-rigging scandal that rocked the financial world last year.

[RayChuang88]

This has the potential to make the Libor scandal that roiled financial markets last year seem like a minor event. The fact oil prices were artificially manipulated by oil companies and hedge funds means any large scale trader with a nefarious goal could drastically affect the price of oil for political ends. Does the name George Soros ring a bell?

[Shady]

Soros ought to be in prison.

[Dusty Road]

Theres two ways to manipulate the price of oil, you can cut back production thus increasing demand or you buy up all the production or as much as you can and sit on it creating the same demand. Which one are they being accused of?

[jiggyboy]

The best I can tell from the story is that they think somebody might be “painting the tape” in thin end-of-day trading. I’d have to bet that that eventually points to speculators instead of producers and end users, as there are almost certainly many more speculators, and of course they were the ones who ran it to $140 a couple of years ago.

[M Kehoe]

Soros ought to be in prison.

Actually, there are five countries that have arrest warrants out for the kapo. Russia, France and Thailand are three that come to mind.

5.56mm

[jiggyboy]

Oops, forgot the classic threads fingering speculators:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2290640/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2854450/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2483774/posts

[griswold3]

Just going after deep pockets.
Call me when they go after the real culprits...OPEC

[Dusty Road]

Thwy were also the ones who got caught holding 140 dollar a barrel oil when the price crashed. How would like to have been one of those that had a tanker full of 140 dollar oil only to have the price crash below a 100 before you could get it to port. Thats a very risky business.

[Steely Tom]

Welcome to Free Republic!

[freedomfiter2]

Soros ought to be found dead in prison.

[freedomfiter2]

So what. They also made their money on the way up. Energy is too important to use for gambling. Only oil businesses should be buying and selling oil. Get the banksters out.

[SeminoleCounty]

Would not be surprised Soros would be involved...

But, too many GOP are tied to Soros. McCain and Graham have received money from Soros via his Open Society group....and Marco Rubio’s Chief of Staff, Cesar Conda, worked for a Soros publication.

Too many in GOP are tied to Soros....nothing probably will happen

[DaveA37]

To: jiggyboy
Thwy were also the ones who got caught holding 140 dollar a barrel oil when the price crashed. How would like to have been one of those that had a tanker full of 140 dollar oil only to have the price crash below a 100 before you could get it to port. Thats a very risky business..........

It’s just “pocket change” to those people.

[Dusty Road]

Kinds the way it was before 1983.

[TArcher]

The fact oil prices were artificially manipulated by oil companies and hedge funds means any large scale trader with a nefarious goal could drastically affect the price of oil for political ends.

 

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=oil+manipulation+site:www.zerohedge.com