WASHINGTON — There’s speculation that speculation is driving up the price of oil and the American Trucking Associations wants the U.S. government to keep an eye on the energy commodity markets.

Speaking on Capitol Hill, Con-Way vice-president Randy Mullett says the federal government must ensure the transparency of energy commodity derivatives markets and establish aggregate position limits across all trading platforms, including over-the-counter markets and foreign exchanges.

“While we cannot quantify the extent to which excessive speculation is responsible for the recent dramatic increases in the price of crude oil, we believe that it is a significant part of the problem,” notes Mullett, who was appearing on behalf of the ATA.

According to the ATA, in the past year crude oil inventory was well above average, global demand remained weak and the dollar declined by only 8 percent relative to the Euro, yet the price of oil has almost doubled.

“In the face of these market realities, excessive speculation is the only other variable left unaccounted for,” adds Mullett.

Diesel fuel is the second-highest expense for most trucking companies, says the ATA, and every one-cent increase in the price of diesel costs the trucking industry an additional $340 million a year.

“The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has taken an initial step in proposing position limits for energy trades on certain commodities exchanges; however, this step by itself is insufficient to curb the problem of excessive speculation,” says Mullett. “Congress must act to broaden the CFTC’s authority and eliminate trading loopholes. The failure to apply position limits across all trading platforms creates a loophole that permits excessive speculation beyond the control of government regulators.”