Comment Text:
Dear Distinguished Members of the Rule Making Committee,
I, like most members of the public, do not have the free time or institutional knowledge necessary to discuss specific rules pertaining to derivatives trading. However, I would like to express a general comment regarding commodities trading.
Due to deregulation, we have seen unfathomable amounts of speculative money enter the commodities futures market. This has had a real impact on all Americans by raising the price of basic needs such has food and energy. Prior to the financial crisis this was already a dangerous situation. Low interest rates that have been implemented in responsive to the crisis will only exacerbate the problem by pushing the great pool of institutional financial resources to new untested asset classes including commodities futures. I fear that we are seeing a great asset bubble in the commodities market, the collapse of which will push the country into a second recession all too soon.
Please take the time to careful craft the rules to protect the integrity of commodities futures trading, and limit the amount of speculative capital that trades in those markets.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Zimmerman
