The United States Oil Fund controls 20 percent of the open interest in the April crude contract on the Nymex, according to data on the fund’s Web site and exchange data. It holds 59,495 contracts compared with Nymex open interest of 293,507 contracts. United States Oil Fund Unaware of CFTC Oil Price Investigation By Matthew Leising Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The United States Oil Fund LP said it has no knowledge of being investigated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for oil trading practices. The CFTC said yesterday it is examining the involvement of the United States Oil Fund and other investors regarding an increase in the price difference between two oil contracts earlier this month. The fund maintains holdings in West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the grade traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange since 1983. “We have not, as of this morning, heard from anyone at CFTC enforcement,” Katie Rooney, a spokeswoman for the United States Commodity Funds LLC, said in an e-mail. The company is prepared to work with regulators in any investigation, she said. The Alameda, California-based company is the manager of the United States Oil Fund. David Gary, a CFTC spokesman, said the agency did not have an immediate response to the United States Oil Fund statement. The CFTC, which oversees $5 trillion in U.S. commodities trading, is investigating whether the United States Oil Fund and other investors affected the price of oil on Feb. 6. To maintain its holdings in oil futures, the exchange-traded fund sells, or rolls, its front-month contracts and buys second-month futures on four predetermined days every month. The United States Oil Fund controls 20 percent of the open interest in the April crude contract on the Nymex, according to data on the fund’s Web site and exchange data. It holds 59,495 contracts compared with Nymex open interest of 293,507 contracts. Price Differential The United States Oil Fund’s size means the rolls can cause the front-month prices to decline relative to second-month contracts, according to analyst Stephen Schork. Market participants can predict this effect and potentially profit by making the same trade before the fund does, Schork said in a report to clients this week. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/...mp;sid=a2aHZGDAd4NY&refer=energy ----------- Benjamin Franklin: ?Wer der Meinung ist, dass er für Geld alles haben kann, gerät leicht in den Verdacht, dass er für Geld alles zu tun bereit ist.?
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