Note to readers:
This a formal letter to the United States Securities and exchange Commission asking the Commission to look into possible wrong-doings during last weeks $11.00 run-up in the price os crude oil. Remember that oil also traded up by $5 the day previously...




United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Enforcement


Dear sir or Madam;

I am writing to you today to formally ask you to look into the latest market trading days as I believe that there may have been some wrongdoing on the investment front as it pertains to oil-related trading.

During the past few weeks, consumers in the United States and other jurisdictions including Canada, have all been led to believe that oil is trading on a fair and equitable basis and trading is based on the actualities that occur day to day.

While trading may occur on a speculative note, the actions of the markets the past few months, in particularly the past few days of trading, far excess what the market is actually worth and what the actual cost of oil should be. I believe that there may have been an attempt to reap huge gains from oil trading in the last few days, particularly on June 05, 2008 and June 06, 2008 inclusive.

I am asking that the Securities and Exchange Commission, on behalf of all consumers of petroleum products, investigate the following items for your consideration, namely;

1) Was there a case of insider trading before the release of pertinent market information that was used by traders to bargain on the speculative news events of the day, namely a prediction of $150 per barrel oil that was made by analysts at Morgan Stanley?

2) Was there any collusion between traders and investment firms that resulted in a $10.75 per barrel increase in crude oil and related commodity prices?

3) While the markets traded on the basis of a said inventory gain on the Wednesday previous to gasoline and distillate inventories, did traders and investment firms manufacture news items that would have led to a high level of speculative increases to oil and its related commodity pricing?

While trading may occur on a speculative nature, it is highly unusual for markets to trade on news that is already considered to be an “ongoing issue” in terms of newsworthy stories that may affect them. On Thursday and Friday, the markets already were trading on an imminent attack by Israel upon Iranian nuclear facilities. If, in fact, war was to break out in the Middle East as some fear, then why is it that the markets traded downwards on January 17, 1991 at the start of the last Persian Gulf War? Oil, in fact, traded down that day by $10.56 U.S a barrel in spite of attacks against Israel and disruptions in oil exports from Iraq.

As regards to the “news” from the research paper by analysts at Morgan Stanley, they are basing their figures on a presumption of no drop in demand where, in fact, the United States Energy Information Administration has found a 1.4% drop in consumer demand, contrary to the Morgan Stanley forecast.

I am asking the Commission to formally investigate the three above points on behalf of consumers in North America and I look forward to your response.


With best regards,



George Murphy
Group researcher/Member
Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices
gasprices@hotmail.com