Comment Text:
10-002
COMMENT
CL-05413
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
[email protected]
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 11 13 AM
secretary
Proposed Speculative Position Limits on Energy
John Darbo
317 Charming Lane
Euless, TX 76039-4112
April 13, 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.
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; their elimination
was insanity. These sort of limits 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
amines 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 already10-002
COMMENT
CL-05413
~veakened economy.
Sincerely,
John H. Darbo,
American Airlines, Retired
817.685.7410
