Yes, the article has a very flawed premise. The vast majority of the oil market is based in real supply and demand. Speculation operates at the margin and most of the time it acts to depress price volatility, not make it worse. Speculation can temporarily distort price discovery, but the door closes fast and speculator’s monetary fingers get smashed if they don’t get out of the way when they are on the wrong side of the trade.
The writer asked a question, but failed to answer it, and oversimplified his attempt.
The writer also seems unduly taken with govt regulation as the way to keep the market real as oppposed to artificial. He’s got that not just wrong, but backwards.
Don’t blame him, journalists are not the brightest bulbs on the tree.