For every speculator who profited from the runup in oil prices, there was a seller. IOW, one speculator gained, another lost the same dollar amount.
That is why the politicians’ rant against “speculation” is simply a feint to divert our attention from the supply and demand fundamentals that have driven the price up. Those same politicians could favorably impact supply and demand via drilling, encouraging conservation, and other politically painful measures if they had the integrity to do so.
