oil prices and the mismaged economy

Okay, call it an educated guess based on analysis of available data. Those that do it well make money, those that don’t, don’t. Either way, the futures market is a benefit to society as a whole.

I like gambling because my brother used to be a card counter, and he gambled based on some information, though incomplete. A guess sounds like it’s pure luck - though educated guess is ok also. Bottom line, though, it is speculation, and on factors not necessarily directly related to the value of the commodity over time.