BP rubbishes India's claim on oil speculators

NEW DELHI: World's third largest energy firm BP Plc has rubbished India's claims that oil speculators are responsible for a global surge in crude oil prices, saying high prices were a result of production struggling to keep pace with the demand. "Speculators, or more accurately financial investors, are no fools. Just as in any other financial market, so in the market for oil - they are a consequence and not a cause of the tight underlying situation," BP Plc Chief Economist Christof Ruhl said. India has maintained that crude prices above $60 per barrel were a result of excessive speculation in markets like NYMEX of New York. "They (financial investors) invest where they see good opportunities and divest where they see demand falling short of supply and therefore expect prices to fall," Ruhl said। (इत)