http://www.VoxEU.org Recent Bassam Fattouh articles on VoxEU.org en http://www.VoxEU.org/index.php?q=node/8839 Bassam Fattouh, Lavan Mahadeva, 21 December 2012

In the last decade, there has been an explosion in the variety of instruments that permit speculation in oil, such as futures, options, index funds, and exchange-traded funds. This has been called the financialisation of the oil markets. This column examines whether this has affected the oil price and predicts powerful natural limits on the ability of financialisation shifts to raise spot prices in frictionless markets.

Full Article: Financialisation in oil markets: Lessons for policy]]> Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.VoxEU.org/index.php?q=node/8839 http://www.VoxEU.org/index.php?q=node/7780 Bassam Fattouh, Lutz Kilian, Lavan Mahadeva, 26 March 2012

What caused the price of oil to surge in 2003–08? CEPR DP8916 assesses – and finds little evidence for – the popular view that ‘speculation’ drives oil price shocks. Economic fundamentals, the authors argue, are still the main determinants.

Full Article: The role of speculation in oil markets: What have we learned so far?]]> Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.VoxEU.org/index.php?q=node/7780