WASHINGTON - U.S. regulators including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will meet on Thursday to discuss regulations on crude oil markets, the head of the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
U.S. regulators are feeling heat from Congress to rein in what they see as excessive speculation in oil markets, after prices soared 40 percent since January to record highs near $140 a barrel.
Some U.S. lawmakers have pressed the CFTC, the top U.S. futures market regulator, to claim jurisdiction over what they call "dark markets" -- oil trading on electronic exchanges like the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE.N: Quote, Profile, Research), or ICE, where the CFTC has little oversight.
"The CFTC is supposed to be a regulator," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, North Dakota Democrat. "But like a lot of regulators, it seems to be pretty much asleep at the switch."
Responding to such concerns, the CFTC this week formed an interagency task force to evaluate commodity markets, and has moved to seek more data on trading of WTI contracts in the United Kingdom. The CFTC has been investigating crude oil markets for more than six months.
The new task force -- which includes the Federal Reserve, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Agriculture -- will meet on Thursday to weigh possible U.S. regulatory schemes, EIA administrator Guy Caruso told a House committee hearing.
"I think we need more information from those markets," Caruso told the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, referring to oil market regulations.
Publicly traded shares of the Intercontinental Exchange fell more than 6 percent in trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, which an analyst attributed to the prospect of more federal oversight.
"With the CFTC meeting with other regulators, some stock market players may have concluded more regulation may have an effect on ICE," said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president at MF Global in New York.
Some lawmakers, mostly Democrats, want the CFTC to revoke a no-action letter it issued in 2007 where it declined to regulate trading of the West Texas Intermediate oil contract on the Dubai Exchange.
Sen. Maria Cantwell has said she is mulling legislation that would require the CFTC to regulate WTI trading on a London exchange operated by the Atlanta-based IntercontinentalExchange.
If the CFTC declines to act, Cantwell said she would pursue legislation to close the "London-Dubai Oil Loophole."
Overseas WTI oil trading on electronic platforms are exempt from most CFTC oversight, even though such contracts are linked to the New York Mercantile Exchange's contract, which has a delivery option in Cushing, Oklahoma.
Oil prices have doubled in the past year as big funds have poured money into commodities, seeking a hedge against inflation and the weaker dollar.
The hot money has helped extend a six-year rally in oil, as supplies have failed to keep pace with surging demand in emerging economies like China.
U.S. regulators are feeling heat from Congress to rein in what they see as excessive speculation in oil markets, after prices soared 40 percent since January to record highs near $140 a barrel.
Some U.S. lawmakers have pressed the CFTC, the top U.S. futures market regulator, to claim jurisdiction over what they call "dark markets" -- oil trading on electronic exchanges like the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE.N: Quote, Profile, Research), or ICE, where the CFTC has little oversight.
"The CFTC is supposed to be a regulator," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, North Dakota Democrat. "But like a lot of regulators, it seems to be pretty much asleep at the switch."
Responding to such concerns, the CFTC this week formed an interagency task force to evaluate commodity markets, and has moved to seek more data on trading of WTI contracts in the United Kingdom. The CFTC has been investigating crude oil markets for more than six months.
The new task force -- which includes the Federal Reserve, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Agriculture -- will meet on Thursday to weigh possible U.S. regulatory schemes, EIA administrator Guy Caruso told a House committee hearing.
"I think we need more information from those markets," Caruso told the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, referring to oil market regulations.
Publicly traded shares of the Intercontinental Exchange fell more than 6 percent in trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, which an analyst attributed to the prospect of more federal oversight.
"With the CFTC meeting with other regulators, some stock market players may have concluded more regulation may have an effect on ICE," said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president at MF Global in New York.
Some lawmakers, mostly Democrats, want the CFTC to revoke a no-action letter it issued in 2007 where it declined to regulate trading of the West Texas Intermediate oil contract on the Dubai Exchange.
Sen. Maria Cantwell has said she is mulling legislation that would require the CFTC to regulate WTI trading on a London exchange operated by the Atlanta-based IntercontinentalExchange.
If the CFTC declines to act, Cantwell said she would pursue legislation to close the "London-Dubai Oil Loophole."
Overseas WTI oil trading on electronic platforms are exempt from most CFTC oversight, even though such contracts are linked to the New York Mercantile Exchange's contract, which has a delivery option in Cushing, Oklahoma.
Oil prices have doubled in the past year as big funds have poured money into commodities, seeking a hedge against inflation and the weaker dollar.
The hot money has helped extend a six-year rally in oil, as supplies have failed to keep pace with surging demand in emerging economies like China.
