Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson said Thursday that heavy Wall Street trading has driven up the price of oil well beyond the level that normal supply and demand forces would suggest.
Under questioning from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) during a Senate Finance Committee hearing, the Exxon chief said that if oil prices were being dictated by normal economic forces, it would cost between $60 and $70 a barrel. Oil is currently trading just below $100 a barrel and has fallen sharply in recent weeks after soaring for most of the year.
