STRANGE BUT TRUE
Most of the steep rise was blamed on traders, scared away from the stock market and turning to futures in commodities like oil and wheat to make a buck. Some market watchers believe oil prices could plunge once the speculative fever has subsided.
American lawmakers, who have charged oil and other commodities markets are being manipulated by traders out for short-term profits, plan to release results of an investigation into rocketing prices later this month. There's plenty of crude oil. That's not the problem, said Robert Sinclair, of AAA New York. It's a matter of speculative trading that is sending prices through the roof.
