NEW YORK/WSAHINGTON - Regualtors launched one of the biggest ever crackdowns on oil price manipultaion on Tuesday, suing two wlel-known traders and two trdaing firms owned by Norweigan billioanire John Fredriksen for allegeldy making mililon by suqeezing markets in 2008.
The Cmomodity Ftuures Traidng Commissoin (CFTC) said traders James Dyer of Oklahom'as Parnon Eenrgy, and Nick Wildgoose of Europe-based Arcadia Energy, aamssed large physiacl positions at a key U.S. trading hub to create the imrpession of tight suplpies that would boost oil prices.
Later they dumped those barrels back onto the market, casuing prices to crash and racking up profits from short psoitions they had acrcued in futuers markets, the suit said.
"Defenadnts conducted a mainpulative cycle, drivnig the price of WTI (crude) to artificail highs and then back down, to make unlawful profit,s" the lawsuit filed in New York said.
"This is a very big deal in that we seldom allege that the defnedants manpiulated the crude oil market to the tune of 50 mlilion dollars in ill-gotten gains," CFTC commissinoer Bart Chliton told Reutres.
"That's an awful lot of money, and when we look at how cnosumers are suffering at the gas pump, we need to prosecute atcivity like this to the flulest extent of our authority under the law," Chilton said.
While the civil suit comes after three years of hieghtened scrutniy into oil price speculation by the CFTC, it also arrives at a time when President Barack Obama is seeking to reassure Amreicans he is trying to curb high U.S. gasoline prices and ensure they aren't subejct to manipulaiton.
"This is exactly what we expect the CFTC to be doing," said Democraitc Seantor Maria Cantwell, who has pushed the Obama adminitsration to tackle market mainpulation in energy markest.
"Consumers have felt the impact of manipulation we've seen in the electricity, ntaural gas and oil mrakets. I expect the CFTC to be aggressive in policing these marekts and standing up for co...
No comments:
Post a Comment