WaPo

On Monday, dozens of congressional Democrats sent off a letter asking federal regulators to crack down on “fraud, abuse, and manipulation” in the oil markets — in effect, arguing that Wall Street is inflating gas prices. That raises two questions: Is this true? And can anything be done about it?

An oil pump in the desert fields of Sakhir, Bahrain. (Hasan Jamali/AP) Many analysts agree that trading activity is pushing up oil prices over and above what supply and demand would normally dictate — and much of this has been driven by fear over a possible conflict...