Oil traders face civil action for price manipulation

The US government has charged a Netherlands-based oil trading firm with manipulating crude oil prices in the first civil complaint since energy regulators began a new investigation into wrongdoings in energy markets.┬á The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused Optiver Holding, two of its subsidiaries and three employees with manipulation and attempted manipulation of crude oil, heating oil and gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange.┬á The CFTC, the governmentÔÇÖs main regulator of commodity markets, said the accused tried to ÔÇ£bang the closeÔÇØ by amassing large positions just before markets closed, driving prices up, then selling them quickly to push prices down and pocketing the difference.┬á The alleged manipulation was attempted 19 times on 11 days in March 2007, the agency said. In five of those attempts, the traders succeeded, according to the CFTC, earning the accused about $1 million. ┬á Record oil prices have led many to claim that the oil market is being driven by speculation rather than supply and demand. ┬á CFTC officials have repeatedly said that speculators are not to blame and that any cases of price manipulation, such as this one, have only a small effect, if any, on oil prices. ┬á The CFTC has been ordered to investigate the matter more thoroughly, and in May the agency announced a wide-ranging probe into price manipulation. It has dozens of investigations ongoing.┬á