WASHINGTON, April 13 (UPI) -- A left-leaning U.S. policy organization says oil companies are making record profits with the help of Wall Street speculators but there's "no smoking barrel."
The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said the retail price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was down 2 cents for the week beginning Monday, though average prices were nearly 15 cents more than the same period in 2011.
The left-leaning Center for American Progress said it uncovered factors that it says suggest international oil companies are taking steps to ensure gasoline prices work in their favor.
"There is no smoking barrel that demonstrates big oil and Wall Street speculators are rigging the game to raise gasoline prices but many of the actions they've taken suspiciously have the effect of boosting prices," the center said in a statement.
The group claims that for every cent that gasoline prices increase, profits for the largest oil companies increase by $200 million per quarter. Speculators, meanwhile, are trading twice as many crude oil futures as other commercial end-users.
U.S. lawmakers last month voted to debate a bill meant to eliminate tax subsidies for oil and natural gas companies.
