Speculation Not Driving Boom in Commodities

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.