Traders Face Curbs on Speculation With CFTC Vote on New Limits
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Traders would be limited in the positions they can hold in oil, wheat, gold and other commodities under a proposal approved by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The CFTC proposal, approved on a 3 to 1 vote yesterday, would cap the number of futures contracts a company can hold in 28 commodities. The limits were sought by Congress after airlines, trucking firms and consumer groups blamed speculators for surging fuel prices in 2008. Among the measure’s supporters was Commissioner Bart Chilton, who yesterday announced that he would soon step down from the agency.