Wrong Place to Blame
Larry Elliott of The Guardian put forth the following on “funds” on October 4, 2004:
“The International Monetary Fund is to step up its surveillance of hedge funds as part of an attempt by the global community to tackle the speculation that has driven oil prices to $50 a barrel in recent weeks…Germany’s finance minister, Hans Eichel, told the annual meeting of the IMF that speculation by hedge funds - highly borrowed investment funds that take big gambles on market movements - was responsible for high oil prices…[The IMF] stepped up its pressure on Opec for further increases in oil supplies but said it also wanted the IMF to supervise a “dialogue” between countries that produce oil and countries that consume it. The IMF believes that hedge funds often exploit a lack of public information about reserves and stocks to manipulate the price.”
The market is the market. It goes up and down. Attempting to place “blame” for high or low prices is a waste of time. Trade the market price is our only option. Deal with reality would be the message to the “suits” at the IMF.
