It has played a magic hand in the manipulation of oil prices in the last year -
The US oil inventory number
The release from the strategic oil reserve
Well coordinated inquiry by congress into oil company pricing scheme/profit
The recent announcement of doubling of US strategic oil reserve by 2017
Its influence on oil export majors such as Saudis, etc
All of which drive the crude futures market a great deal. All of which serve as smoking screen to be seen by its voting public.
China is a long way from mastering this level of subtle and effective manipulation of one of the most important natural resouces.
