This is a pretty big allegation, and though I work in the energy sector and have a working but limited knowledge of the way these markets work, it’s just not as

This is a pretty big allegation, and though I work in the energy sector and have a working but limited knowledge of the way these markets work, it’s just not as simple as the article implies. As mentioned in the slate article, these are likely but hedges against other trades either in physical markets or other financial markets. These trades mean someone loses just as much as the winner wins. Futures markets are typically just risk management trades and not speculative, at least in my experience with this stuff.