They are at it again. When commodity prices go up, you can be sure the politicians and bureaucrats will be blaming speculators and attempting to restrict them in some way. When prices go down (thanks to speculators) we hear nothing, while speculators (of course) get no plaudits.
Politicians don’t take courses in basic supply and demand economics. Bureaucrats are government employees who serve at the behest of the politicos, so we receive such as the proposed current regulation of dreaded speculation.
But independent research shows time and again that attempts by government to stifle markets that reflect supply and demand fail miserably. Those attempts are forms of price control and are doomed to failure. There are always unintended consequences which are worse than temporary price increases in trading markets.
Open markets are generally honest. Rationing leads to restricted, black markets, where political machinations can get enmeshed.
Politicians looking for votes cater to base instincts, so we get what we sow. Unfortunately.
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