LONDON -(Dow Jones)- OPEC's oil ministers may blame speculators for driving oil prices into record territory but Goldman Sachs (GS), whose S&P GSCI Commodity Index is the world's largest, said Tuesday that fundamentals, not speculators, underpin scorching crude prices.

Analysts at the investment bank said in a report that talk of speculative money as the primary reason for whipping oil prices to a record high of almost $ 104 a barrel in New York Monday is overstated, with its long-term price of $85 a barrel rooted in energy project cost inflation and low spare capacity.

The April 2013 oil futures contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange traded at $98. ... Read full article