Only about 23% of all oil investments are from private speculators. That has very little impact on the market as a whole. The culprit is huge industrial expansion going in China and India, which together host a third of the World’s population.
And the idea of alternative energy ever effecting the price, that is still decades away, if at all.
I’m not sure I follow you. Are you saying that China and India are taking part in the oil futures market? Or the fact that they’re growing so much right now is leading to greater demand, thus raising the price? If the latter is the case this would be in direct conflict with what the article is saying about Saudi Arabia and Iran have vast surpluses of stored oil. I’m confused.