Money | China Speculation Not Driving Boom in Commodities Surveyed economists name supply, demand as bigger factors By Nick McMaster Posted May 8, 2008 4:29 PM CDT Copied A farm laborer plants rice seedlings at the experimental plots of the International Rice Research Institute, IRRI, at Los Banos, Laguna province 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of Manila, Philippines Saturday May 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) A majority of economists think the upswing in food and energy prices is due to fundamental issues of supply and demand—and not driven by speculation, a Wall Street Journal survey finds; 51% pegged demand from China and India as the chief cause of the oil boom. An additional 15% think supply issues are driving the oil boom. On food, 60% say that either supply problems or booming demand is driving prices up. By contrast, only 11% think either commodity's price rise is attributable to a speculative bubble. Read These Next Trump reportedly wants a $230M payout from the DOJ. Online boo-bears go after the demo firm tearing White House apart. A well-known nutrition influencer died after a home birth. RFK Jr. offered his wife a fake separation. Report an error