Comment Text:
10-002
COMMENT
CL-01623
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
[email protected]
Wednesday,
April 14, 2010 1118 AM
secretary
Proposed Speculative Position Limits on Energy
Geoff Pritchard
1301 Drury Rd
Deary, ID 83823-9606
April 14, 2010
David Stawick
Secretary, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Three Lafayette Centre
1155 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20581
Dear Mr. Stawick:
I am writing in support of the CFTC's Proposed Federal Speculative
Position Limits that will reestablish speculative position limits on maj or
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. The run up in oil
prices back in fall of 2008 started the cascade of events that eventually
drove the US economy into the current recession.
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. As a farmer, I can say that this energy
speculation causes dramtic rises in the cost to produce food through both
fuel and fertilizer prices. It seems very unfair that the CFTC willl
regulate wild swings in food pricing due to speculation but not so with
the energy needed to produce that food. 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 fuel10-002
COMMENT
CL-01623
cooperatives, public utilities, truckers and airlines are not exploited by
big banks and 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,
Geoff Pritchard
208-877-1276
