Probe of Crude Oil Trading Disclosed

[deminks]

Source: Washington Post

By Steven Mufson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 30, 2008; Page D01

During continued volatility in oil prices, federal regulators said yesterday that they had been investigating crude oil trading, storage and transportation for the past six months with a focus on possible "futures market manipulation."

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which normally keeps investigations confidential, said in a statement that it was "taking the extraordinary step of disclosing this investigation because of today's unprecedented market conditions."

Those conditions have sent oil prices to record heights, adding to the U.S. trade deficit, hurting consumers and companies, and weighing heavily on the nation's economy.

Gregory Mocek, director of enforcement at the CFTC, said five senior trial lawyers, "some of the most experienced prosecutors that we have," and other investigators were engaged in the inquiry. "The scope is quite broad," Mocek said, adding that the commission was looking at the "national crude market," including trades on regulated exchanges, cash trades, storage, pipeline operations and shipping.

Yesterday was another chaotic day for crude oil prices, which had soared about 30 percent since the start of the year. This time, however, prices tumbled $4.41, or 3.4 percent, to $126.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as traders tried to decipher new U.S. inventory numbers. The Energy Information Administration said petroleum stocks fell sharply, which would ordinarily drive prices up, but it blamed the drop on "temporary" delays in oil tanker off-loadings on the Gulf Coast.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052903627.html?hpid=topnews

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I hope someone is looking at food prices, too.

[Trillo]

1. Nothing to see here. Move along.

To some degree, food prices are dependent upon energy costs for fertilizer and farm equipment, and transportation cost.

[Career Prole]

2. So..."investigating crude oil trading, storage and transportation"

Gregory Mocek, director of enforcement at the CFTC, said five senior trial lawyers, "some of the most experienced prosecutors that we have," and other investigators were engaged in the inquiry. "The scope is quite broad," Mocek said, adding that the commission was looking at the "national crude market," including trades on regulated exchanges, cash trades, storage, pipeline operations and shipping.


Whoa, some big guns! They should be able to find out easily what DUer Texas Explorer found out with some phone calls, then...or will they?

I called the NWS in Lake Charles, New Orleans, and Houston. NO DENSE FOG! Only sporadic light fog that burned off shortly after sunrise. Also, for the past week our weather patterns here in Texas (Edited to add: Remember the tornado in Colorado? Fed by patterns bringing air currents up from GOM, through Texas. There were no significant inversions along the coast) would not allow for the formation of dense fog that could keep tankers from off-loading.

So, why the lies?

:eyes:

[chill_wind]

3. More here:

CFTC Targets Shipping, Storage in Oil Investigation: "Prosecutions Possible."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3366027