Limits on speculative positions in energy futures proposed by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission would be unlikely to affect many market participants, the CFTC said.
If the proposed limits had been applied in 2008 and 2009, 23 large traders would have been affected, the CFTC has calculated. Of these, about seven would have been regarded as speculators and subjected to trading limits, while the rest would have been eligible for either “bona fide hedging exemptions” or “certain swap dealer risk management transactions”.
The...