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February 24, 2012

Obama Touts Energy Policy Amid Concern Over Speculators' Role in Gas Prices 
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President Obama took up the nation's soaring gas prices on Thursday in a
speech devoted to touting his administration's energy policy. Obama said
the White House is working diligently to find ways to reduce the cost of
gas.

President Obama: "I have directed my administration to look for every
single area where we can make an impact and help consumers in the months
ahead from delivery bottlenecks to what's going on in the oil markets.
We're going to look at every single aspect of gas prices because we know
the burden that it's putting on consumers. And we will keep taking as
many steps as we can in the coming weeks. That's short term, but over
the long term an all-of-the-above energy strategy requires us having the
right priorities. We've got to have the right incentives in place."

During his remarks, Obama made brief mention of "speculative trading,"
which some analysts say is playing an overlooked role in driving up the
price of gas. In an interview with ABC News, Bart Chilton, a
commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, cited figures
from Goldman Sachs showing large amounts of car owners' gas expenditures
are going directly to Wall Street speculators who bet on oil prices.
According to Chilton, drivers of a popular Ford pick-up truck are paying
an extra $14.56 per fill-up to speculators, or around $750 per year.
According to widely cited estimates, gas is now costing an extra $10 per
barrel because of financial market speculation.



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