More than merely financing middlemen, speculators influence prices of commodities, currencies and other goods by using futures to encourage stockpiling against shortages.

Does speculators benefit from price increase?

Speculators attempt to predict price changes and extract profit from the price moves in an asset. ... Prop shops or proprietary trading firms can also be considered speculators because they use leverage to purchase securities and make profits from changes in their price.

How does speculation affect market prices?

Market liquidity

Speculators add liquidity to the markets by actively trading. A market without speculators would be an illiquid market, characterized by large spreads between bid and ask prices, and where it might be very difficult for investors to buy or sell investments at a fair market price.