Speculators seen fueling runaway crude oil prices.

Speculators seen fueling runaway crude oil prices Hirohisa Sakamoto Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Yomiuri NEW YORK Even though the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced an 800,000 barrel-a-day increase in crude oil output earlier this month, oil prices have continued to climb on the New York market's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) index. The oil price at one stage Monday reached 37 dollars per barrel, marking a 10-year high since October 1990--immediately before the Gulf War. The rising cost of the commodity, possibly due to oil market speculation, has sparked fears of an impact on the Japanese and global economies. In the U.S. petroleum industry, there is …