Skip to content

Subscriber Only

Don't Blame the Algos for Oil Market Swings, Economist Says

Phil Verleger says Christmas Eve drop was led by 3-way calls
Booming U.S. fracking industry leads to increase in hedging

By

Jessica Summers

December 27, 2018, 3:17 PM UTC

Don’t blame the algos for crude oil’s price swings, according to one economist.

“This is not algorithmic trading by speculators," Philip Verleger, president of energy consultancy PK Verleger LLC, said in a Bloomberg Television interview Thursday. “This is hedging of financial obligations to the people who are producing all this oil.”