Showing posts with label Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Show all posts

Monday, August 23, 2010

Oil Futures Trading Taking A Nose Dive: Not Expected To Rebound

There has been much concern about the slowing demand and rising inventory of crude oil. Despite this concern, crude oil futures saw a slight gain today. It's going to become more difficult for these gains to continue though, because the U.S. demand is beginning its yearly decline.

On the New York Merchantile Exchange, the crude has traded for October delivery at 24 cents, or 0.3 percent to $74.06 a barrel. There were numerous traders who had hoped to see an incline in gasoline consumption, but that did not happen. Investors fear continues to mount as it's becoming clear that the annual Fall decline will be even more pronounced.

Earlier this month, several money managers including Hedge funds, took speculative positions on the increasing oil prices which topped almost $80 a barrel. According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, these money managers have now changed their tune and are leading the way out of the oil market all together.

Analysts from Societe Generale wrote, "The bottom line is that even though recent actual demand figures from key countries such as the U.S. and China remain healthy, high inventories are unambiguously bearish."

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

CFTC Caves in to Government

Government Interference in Oil Markets

Somehow the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which has always said it has never found a correlation between speculation and oil price swings, has suddenly got regulation religion, and now says it's ready to go before Congress and 'admit' speculators are playing a huge role in price runups. This is plain evil, and an investigation needs to be conducted on where this new found information has come from, and if shady politicians and some big energy companies are behind the new found information.

Any price swing in any commodity can happen short term with commodity investors, but to say that is what's behind the price swing of last year which pushed oil prices up is in itself huge speculation, and just another attempt by the socialist Obama and Democrats to attempt to play god, thinking they can alter the age-old reality of supply and demand.

One of the major reasons this is ludicrous is commodity investors can make money when prices go up and down, and so the idea they can push prices up on their own has no merit, and supply and demand always bring it back to reality either way, as consumer respond to price swings. It's as simple as that, and the strong-arming and dishonesty emerging concerning so-called speculators being able to manipulate the market in any meaningful way is just ugly and a lie.

Some Democrats need to be investigate concerning this, along with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to see if there is any criminal activity concerning this sudden turn around by the CFTC, which is unprecedented.

Misguided and misinformed watchers say this will help consumers. No it won't. Consumers do struggle at times when prices swing up, but they also profit tremendously when prices go down. To say government regulation of the oil market will make a difference is stupid and ignorant.

The failure of socialism and turning of communist countries to capitalism has already shown that governments cannot and should not attempt to interfere with any market, as the unintended consequences that always follow never seem to teach them to stick to minding their own business, rather than interfering with the market place.

Government Interference in Oil Markets

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

CBOT Owner Resists Wheat Restrictions

Wheat Markets

The attempt by the government to regulate and interfere with the wheat market could be another disaster in the making, as the completely foolish, misguided and clueless Democrats continue their assault on free markets.

According to Charles Carey, vice chairman of CBOT owner CME Group Inc., government restrictions on trading "are more likely to be harmful to the functioning of our markets than helpful," and he's absolutely right.

The idea that we should have some type of perfection in place so no one ever gets hurt is outrageous, socialist and fascist to the core. Short term fluctations in wheat prices will never last, and that's the illusory problem the goofy Democrats think needs to be solved.

Unbelievably, federal regulators are "seriously considering" restrictions in the wheat futures market being urged by lawmakers concerned over speculation they say has artificially inflated prices, supposedly interfering risk management by farmers and grain processors.

After a wasted year and time, a faux investigation by the investigative panel of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found that the disconnect between the wheat futures and cash markets can mean higher prices for consumers. They say this with a straight face when corn prices and lack of planting of wheat does more to jack up the prices because of other government interference through subsidies from taxpayers dollars.

A number of senators have called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to restrict the volume of index trading in the wheat futures market on the Chicago Board of Trade, a completely ridiculous idea.

Foolishly, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler told the Senate subcommittee at a recent hearing that the agency "is seriously considering this recommendation ... (and) will continue to closely monitor the performance of the wheat futures contract."

Democrat Panel chairman Carl Levin, ignorantly said such a review "is badly needed." Several other members of the committee, representing farm states, voiced concern about the impact of market problems on wheat producers in those states.

Again, to me much of this is to hide the real culprit in wheat prices, federal subsidies of corn for the failing corn-based ethanol industry, which is pushing up prices because of less acreage used for wheat because of the artifical price increases created by the U.S. government.

But an official of the company that operates the Chicago Board of Trade, where wheat futures are traded, opposed such constraints and disputed the Senate probe's findings, as mentiond above from Charles Carey's accurate comments.

The idea of attempting to manipulate the market by the U.S. government and Democrats will fail, as the utopian idea of reducing risk is completely foolish and always fails, and the wheat and commodities markets overall will suffer.

Commodity indexes include futures contracts for delivery in different months. Commodity index traders sell financial instruments whose values rise and fall along with the value of the index on which they are located.

Commodity index traders acquire wheat futures to help offset their risk from selling the instruments to third parties. That pumps billions of dollars into the market and lifts demand and prices for wheat futures, the faulty results of the Senate investigation found.

Other related to the risk factors are also whining about the alleged discrepencies, as one person representing the American Bakers Association and the Sara Lee Corp said at the hearing, "Bakers cannot escape the impact. Today's volatility represents millions of dollars daily in undue financial risk."

What this disingenous bureaucrat doesn't say is this has always been the case, and the those that manage this risk factor are the ones who win. In the stimulous and spirit of bailing out company after company, those that can't compete are attempting to make it look like something unusual is happening, when in fact it has been the practice and way of doing business for a long time.

The one who knows about this the best is Charles Carey, vice chairman of CBOT owner CME Group Inc., and he concludes that the findings of the Senate report "are based on faulty economic analysis and a misunderstanding of basic market economics."

Just look at what the Democrats and Obama are doing to destroy America with its socialist and fascist policies, and you can easily understand how this group of politicians are among the most inexperienced and naive in American history; in both foreign and domestic policy, and they need to just shut up and let the free market work things out, which it always has done.

Wheat Markets

Monday, January 5, 2009

CBOT Limits Ag Receipts Held by Non-Grain Companies to Improve Performance of Hedging

In response to pressure over the last year, the CBOT has responded to requests from its regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and will now limit the number of warehouse receipts and grain shipping certificates a non-grain company can hold.

This is especially targeted to soft red winter wheat contracts, to improve its hedging effectiveness, which has been dismal for some time. At the same time it'll help other grain contracts like corn, rice, wheat, oat, soybean, soymeal and soyoil.

Starting on February 17, the Chicago Board of Trade will enact the limits on the non-grain holding companies that hold grain shipping certificates or warehouse receipts, which will be given until May 31 to comply with the new rules.

Here are the parameters below:


Commodity - Limit


Corn shipping certificates - 600*
Soybean shipping certificates - 600*
Wheat shipping certificates - 600*
Soybean oil warehouse receipts - 540
Soybean meal shipping certificates - 720
Oat shipping certificates - 600
Rough rice warehouse receipts - 600

*Includes certificates for CBOT mini-contracts.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Effective Date for Price Limit Rules on the Kansas City Board of Trace Wheat is March 28, 2008


On Friday, March 28, it needs to be remembered that the Kansas City Board of Trade has been given approval by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to change the daily price limits for hard red winter wheat options and futures.

Since it's the effective business date, it entails the evening session on Thursday, March 27, 2008.

The press release said:

"The initial daily price limit for wheat remains at 60 cents per bushel and will increase by 50 percent the following trading session when the price of two or more futures contract months within the first five listed non-spot contract months, or the final contract month of a crop year, closes at limit bid or limit offer. Price limits can expand two consecutive times: to a 90 cent per bushel limit and then to a maximum $1.35 per bushel limit.

"Daily price limits will step back to their prior levels when no futures contract month closes at limit bid or limit offer that day. If price limits are $1.35 per bushel and no wheat futures contract month closes limit bid or limit offer, daily price limits for all contract months revert back to 90 cents per bushel the next business day. If price limits are 90 cents per bushel and no wheat futures contract month closes limit bid or limit offer, daily price limits for all contract months revert back to 60 cents per bushel the next business day. The CME Group is adopting the same price limits policy for its wheat contracts.

"Following the expanded price limits effective trade date February 11, market users asked for additional changes. Market users wanted to see: price limit provisions that expand based on the activity of the front months where the majority of open interest resides, a maximum amount that price limits can expand to, and provisions that allow price limits to contract at the same rate that they expand. These changes address all three of these concerns.

"Options pricing is subject to the same daily price limits as the underlying futures contract."