From: "Mark" 


"Gene McAloon"  wrote: That is a
very strange thing to say. The commodity traders do not determine the
> price. They are trading futures, in affect what they think the price will
be
> down the line, not today's price. The base price is in the long term
contracts
> under which the producing nations sell the oil. That price doesn't change
> regardless of what the traders are betting.

Replacement cost (new contracts) is the true cost, thus the futures
determine the current price.

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