Zeev's Turnips Patch-No Politics (ZEEV)

[osprey]

Increasing oil futures trading margins will only slow oil down if the spike is speculative. That is, the futures markets are driving the price of crude.

If it is a true supply demand problem it won't make much difference.

In a speculative bubble raising margins can be very effective though. The gold/silver bubble of the early 1980s was halted in its tracks when the futures authorities raised the margin requirements. It is too long ago for me to remember accurately but I dimly think I remember that they raised the margin requirement to 100%.