Senate Ag Committee looks at fuel prices
Farm and Ranch April 5, 2011 At a U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee hearing last week a representative of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates futures markets, was asked if there are any red flags popping up in the energy market. Here is the answer CFTC General Counsel Dan Berkowitz provided. Berkowitz: “Well we are very carefully looking at that and evaluating and where there is enforcement action or other appropriated action, we will take it.” Dr. Richard Newell, Administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, also addressed the committee and he didn’t seem to think speculation in oil markets has been much of a factor in the rising price of oil. Newell: “There is a close tie between current spot prices and futures prices. And futures prices depend upon not on what is happening today but what we think might happen in the next few months or next few years. So it is in that sense that they are tied but I think one could attribute the recent run up in prices over the last several weeks to supply side concerns, both actual and perceived increased risk.” The Energy Information Administration’s most recent price forecasts are for retail gasoline to average $3.56 a gallon this year, up 77-cents from 2010. It expects on-road retail diesel to average $3.81 a gallon, 82 cents higher than last year. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net. ?
