BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Did speculators cause oil's $25 one-day price jump?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/23/did-speculators-cause-oil-s-25-one-day-price-jump/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/23/did-speculators-cause-oil-s-25-one-day-price-jump/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/23/did-speculators-cause-oil-s-25-one-day-price-jump/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Oil jumps more than $25 in one day and a chorus rises to 'stamp out speculators'.

But are speculators at the core of the problem? And if so, would reducing speculation lower oil prices?

Economist David H. Wang argues that speculators "may in fact be boosting oil's price" and a partial solution may be to require commodity traders to deposit more money per futures contract, thus reducing the number of speculators. That should lead to smaller price moves for oil, he said.

However, Wang cautioned, that reduction in speculators will also lead to smaller price moves to the downside if and when oil's bearish fundamentals become the market's major concern.

Oil: "The sexiest asset in town"

Continue reading Did speculators cause oil's $25 one-day price jump?

Did speculators cause oil's $25 one-day price jump? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bondsbudget deficitdollarfeaturedfinancial crisisgasoline pricesgdphedgersoil pricesoil shockspeculatorsstockstradingU.S. CongressU.S. economyU.S. TreasuryTue, 23 Sep 2008 15:05:00 EST<![CDATA[Cotton price spike mystifies traders, prompts inquiry]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/13/cotton-price-spike-mystifies-traders-prompts-inquiry/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/13/cotton-price-spike-mystifies-traders-prompts-inquiry/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/13/cotton-price-spike-mystifies-traders-prompts-inquiry/#commentsFiled under: ,

cottonAdd another case study to the controversy over speculators and market manipulation.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether cotton prices were 'artificially inflated' in early March, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday (subscription required). The March 4 price spiked from about 70 cents per pound to an intra-day high of $1.09 and closed at 93.1 cents.

In Wednesday morning trading, cotton rose about four-tenths of one cent to 70.070 cents per pound.

The Journal reported that the price spike in early March was unusual and baffled traders because cotton inventories were at their highest level in four decades, towel and fabric demand was weakened by the housing slump, and global supplies were high.

On the other side of argument, one which argues that market forces set the price, some cotton merchants themselves were trading aggressively; a little-used exchange rule suddenly required merchants to unwind sell orders; and financial investors, including pension and hedge funds, started to enter the market, which generated an eight-fold jump February 19-26 in net buying, The Journal reported, citing CFTC data.

Continue reading Cotton price spike mystifies traders, prompts inquiry

Cotton price spike mystifies traders, prompts inquiry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Commodity Futures Trading Commissioncottonfutureshedge fundshedgersinstitutional investorsinthenewspension fundsspeculationspeculatorsWed, 13 Aug 2008 12:20:00 EST