Of the 10 countries worldwide that had the highest oil demand growth rate between 2005 and 2006, nine of the 10 shielded their citizens from high oil prices through price controls.

As a result, demand has only continued to grow, thus inflating oil prices even more, said consulting firm Wall Street Access.

"Manipulation is at the heart of oil's spectacular price run. Not manipulation by oil companies or hedge funds, but by the meddling of governments, especially developing countries, who have fixed their nations' oil product prices well below market prices, thus subsidizing consumption and boosting demand," said a Wall Street Access report co-authored by Bernard Picchi, CFA.

The report ...