WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- Speculative commodity trading that pushes prices upward needs to be reined in U.S. senators in Washington said.
Raw commodity prices are pushing consumer good prices to the point "the American people are about to take out pitchforks," U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., told Chief Economist of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Jeffrey Harris at a Senate hearing Tuesday.
Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said he is contemplating a bill to restrict speculative spending on commodities by large investors and close loopholes that allows investors to avoid spending limits, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Oil prices have jumped more than $40 a barrel since early February, topping $131 per barrel Wednesday, but Harris told committee members basic supply and demand, bad weather and geopolitical dynamics were the culprits behind rising prices.
The combined economic pressures "have formed a perfect storm that is causing significant upward pressure on futures prices," Harris said.
Rep. Joe L. Barton, R-Texas, said he is also interested in writing legislation to restrict speculative commodities spending.
"I don't think there's any question that speculators in the oil markets have taken prices higher," Barton said.
