Font Size: AAA // Print // Bookmark

Comment for Proposed Rule 75 FR 4143

  • From: Konrad Rieger
    Organization(s):

    Comment No: 9031
    Date: 4/9/2010

    Comment Text:

    10-002
    COMMENT
    CL-00031
    From:
    Sent:
    To:
    Subject:
    [email protected]
    Friday, April 9, 2010 8:08 PM
    secretary
    Proposed Speculative Position Limits on Energy
    Konrad Rieger
    40440 Carmelita Circle
    Temecula, CA 92591-1604
    April 9, 2010
    David Stawick
    Secretary, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
    Three Lafayette Centre
    1155 21st Street, NW
    Washington, DC 20581
    Dear Mr. Stawick:
    You may think, like so many, it's cool to force the consumer to conserve
    gasoline, drive smaller cars etc. etc.. Yet think about the airline
    traffic and the airline industry which has no alternative but to turn
    people away with higher cost. Every American expects airline travel to be
    there as a part of our way of life. Where do we go as a people without it?
    Fly kites? I am writing in support of the CFTC's Proposed Federal
    Speculative Position Limits that will reestablish speculative position
    limits on major energy commodities. This rule will provide stability to
    the marketplace and help prevent future price bubbles. The CFTC must
    quickly approve a strong rule to protect America's struggling economy.
    Wall Street's speculative trading in oil not only hurts the economy, but
    hurts every American who pays excessive prices at the pump, for groceries,
    home heating oil and everything related to transportation.
    Our tax dollars were used to bail out large Wall Street firms when they
    were on the brink of bankruptcy. It is these same institutions that
    pushed the price of gasoline well past $4 per gallon in 2008 by gambling
    on oil and continue to profit at every American's expense.
    Rampant oil speculation by large Wall Street trading firms has resulted in
    extreme volatility in energy markets and unwarranted price spikes in
    recent years. Given that supplies are at record highs and demand remains
    weak, fundamentals cannot explain recent price hikes and destructive price
    swings. Unless the CFTC adopts the proposed rule, markets will continue to
    fluctuate wildly.
    Position limits existed in energy markets until 2001 and currently apply
    to agricultural commodities. CFTC should use its existing experience to
    regulate position limits of speculators and prevent excessive
    concentration in the energy markets, while ensuring that exemptions to
    these limits afforded to real physical players such as fuel cooperatives,
    public utilities, truckers and airlines are not exploited by big banks and10-002
    COMMENT
    CL-00031
    billionaire investors.
    Energy consumers desperately need stability in the marketplace. I
    encourage the CFTC to adopt the Proposed Federal Speculative Position
    Limits before volatile fuel prices further harm the country's already
    ~veakened economy.
    Sincerely,
    Konrad Rieger
    9516768810