And if those speculators are right, people will be praising them for having the foresight to save oil for such a situation, which will lower prices compared to the speculation-free scenario.
Speculation could probably have negative effects on markets in theory, but it's so hard to take such claims seriously since they're rarely based on sound economics.
Speculation has had negative effects in practice: The tulip crisis. Sometimes speculation can turn into a pyramid game.
I'm not saying that this is always, or even often the case, but it is sometimes the case.
Speculation could probably have negative effects on markets in theory, but it's so hard to take such claims seriously since they're rarely based on sound economics.