Why Gas is so Expensive
at the Pump

"There is no more debate. Excessive speculation is a major reason oil prices have risen so sharply," Sen. Bernie Sanders said, referring to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data he recently released. The data reveals Wall Street speculators played a major role in driving up the price of a barrel of oil to $147 in 2008. During the rampant oil speculation, regular unleaded gas in Vermont hit a record $4.09 a gallon, causing financial hardship for many Vermonters.

"While making this confidential information public may have upset Wall Street oil speculators, the American people have a right to know exactly what caused gasoline prices to skyrocket to more than $4 a gallon back in the summer of 2008," Bernie said. "This report clearly shows that Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and other speculators on Wall Street dominated the crude oil futures market causing tremendous damage to the entire economy."

Speculation is rampant again, and – no surprise – gas prices have soared over the course of the last year. This week, gas in Vermont cost 90 cents more than one year ago. "There is little doubt that the same speculators who caused gasoline and heating oil prices to unnecessarily spike in 2008 are playing the same games again in 2011. This is simply unacceptable and must not be allowed to continue," Bernie said.

Bernie called on federal regulators to meet in an emergency session to crack down on speculators and provide needed relief for motorists and for people who heat their homes with heating oil. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission was required by the new Wall Street reform law to stop excessive speculation by January, but the regulators have ignored that new law. In a letter, Bernie called on the CFTC to "finally do what the law mandates and end excessive oil speculation."

Read Bernie's letter to the CFTC »
Document: Read the confidential report revealing rampant oil speculation »
Watch Bernie on The Ed Show on MSNBC »
Read more in the International Business Times »

Legislative Update : Bernie introduced the End Excessive Oil Speculation Now Act of 2011 that would force the CFTC to impose strict limits on the amount of oil speculators can trade in the commodity and futures markets. The bill has eight co-sponsors.