Evil speculators! Unregulated foreigners! Driving down the price of oil:

Oil prices sank to a five-month low of just more than $105 a barrel on Tuesday as traders turned their sights on signs that slower growth was spreading beyond the US into Europe, Japan and even emerging markets. The fall led some analysts to suggest that oil prices could move back below $100 a barrel, a level not seen since March, after fears that US oil supplies could be severely disrupted by hurricane Gustav proved unfounded. … Oil led a broader sell-off in commodities such as copper, corn and soybeans, with the Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a benchmark for raw materials, falling to a 6½-month low, down about 18 per cent from July’s peak.

We eagerly await the word from Congress, the airline lobby, and the editorial pages about the evil of these price manipulators in the market who are trading down the price of petroleum and hurting the prospects of hardworking American oil workers.