But Are Speculators Really To Blame?

If you're a frequent flier on any of 12 major US airlines, you may be receiving an unusual e-mail, signed by executives of all 12 of the companies. The campaign is an effort to get airline customers to pressure Congress for action to limit the ability of commodity speculators to inflate the price of oil.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the e-mails encourage consumers to go to a Web site, stopoilspeculationnow.com, where they'll find a form memo ready to send to lawmakers. Also participating in the program are cargo carriers and groups representing airport executives, unionized employees, corporate travel executives, gasoline dealers, bus companies and others.

Air Transport Association spokesman David Castelveter says tens of millions of the e-mails are going out. Delta spokesman Kent Landers calls the effort a "really unprecedented move."

Not everyone agrees speculators are to blame for the runup in fuel prices. InterContinental Exchange, an energy exchange based in Atlanta, says responsibility for fundamental changes in oil prices, "cannot lie with a single exchange, regulator or group of market participants."

A coalition of financial services associations goes as far as to tell Congress in a letter that without speculation, "consumers would likely pay more for energy and commodities." The group also said some of the proposals to tighten regulations would be counter-productive.

Will Acworth, a spokesman for the Futures Industry Association, says the controvery over futures trading is nothing new, and remains hopeful Congressional committees overseeing the markets will "reach a sensible conclusion."

Because if there's one word to describe the oil industry, it's "sensible."

FMI: www.stopoilspeculationnow.com, www.congress.gov