Speculation Not Driving Boom in Commodities

Surveyed economists name supply, demand as bigger factors
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted May 8, 2008 4:29 PM CDT
Speculation Not Driving Boom in Commodities
A farm laborer plants rice seedlings at the experimental plots of the International Rice Research Institute, IRRI, at Los Banos, Laguna province 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of Manila, Philippines Saturday May 3, 2008.   (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

A majority of economists think the upswing in food and energy prices is due to fundamental issues of supply and demand—and not driven by speculation, a Wall Street Journal survey finds; 51% pegged demand from China and India as the chief cause of the oil boom.

An additional 15% think supply issues are driving the oil boom. On food, 60% say that either supply problems or booming demand is driving prices up. By contrast, only 11% think either commodity's price rise is attributable to a speculative bubble. (More China stories.)

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