If you were thinking of filling up at the petrol station this weekend you've had a narrow escape. Petrol prices looked like they would soar in the early hours of Wednesday morning as 16 million barrels of oil were traded (against the average for that period of 500,000) and the oil price surged through $70 a barrel, the biggest jump this year. And the reason? An 'unauthorised' trade by an individual at oil brokerage PVM Oil Associates. One trader made a $10m bet (which is not the piffling amount it seems because he or she was buying futures contracts which allow you to purchase huge amounts of oil for a small down-payment) on prices rising, other jumpy traders followed and all hell (briefly) broke loose. The price then fell back although it's still at unrealistic levels. We'll no doubt find out soon if this trade really was unauthorised, companies tend to say this when bets go awry. But everyone who's wondered why oil and consequently petrol prices are moving higher in the midst of a stonking world recession - when demand goes down -now knows the answer: speculation, pure and simple. We keep hearing about more measures to regulate the banks. Someone needs to regulate these rogue traders and the sooner the better.