Crude proposal: The US shouldn’t try to rig oil prices by intervening as a short seller
In the shadow of the Iran war, with crude hovering around $100 a barrel, the allure of a quick fix for energy inflation is understandable. But intervening directly in financial markets by taking a bearish short position in oil—which the US Treasury says it’s been discussing—is a terrible idea. Selling oil futures would be a desperate ploy, born of panic about rising US gasoline and diesel retail prices ahead of the midterm elections.
History is littered with American politicians who thought they knew better than the market, such as President Richard Nixon who imposed energy price controls after the 1970s’ oil crisis. It did not lower prices, but it brought shortages and mile-long lines at gas stations. The oil futures and options market isn’t a casino where the US government can appoint itself as the house that always wins.
It’s the beating heart of the energy industry, where Texas oil producers go to hedge their price exposure, Asian refiners lock in costs and everyone else can take a view. The oil price is set every day by millions of transactions in the physical and derivatives markets, each with a different opinion about supply, demand and inventories. The government’s role is to safeguard that process, not distort it.Commodity markets thrive on transparency and rules-based trading.
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