WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) – The head of the U.S. regulator in charge of ridding commodity markets of fraud and manipulation implored lawmakers on We dnesday to think of consumers paying more for gasoline as Congress decides how much money to give his agency.

Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, warned that without sufficient funding, his agency would struggle to employ new market-surveillance tools to target inappropriate activity.

“Given the dominance of financial actors and speculators in these markets, it’s that much more crucial that the CFTC is well funded so that we can ensure these markets work for hedgers,” Gensler told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee.

Gensler said he fills up his car “a lot” to handle frequent trips between Washington and Baltimore, where he has family.

“The need for adequate funding is highlighted by rising gas prices at the pump,” he said, noting the CFTC is responsible for ensuring the market is transparent and free of illegal activity, but that it is not a price-setting agency.

U.S. gasoline prices have jumped nearly 30 cents in the past month, pushing the national average to $3.87 a gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration. With elections scheduled for November, the price surge has led to finger-pointing between Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

Gensler’s call for funding comes the same day that five Democratic senators and one independent accused the chairman of not moving fast enough on efforts to curb excessive speculation.

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) – The U.S. futures regulator o n Tuesday approved rules outlining clearing requirements for swaps, a step regulators hope will increase transparency over Wall Street’s risky bets and make markets operate more smoothly.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s measures, approved 4-1 by the agency’s five commissioners, detail the documentation for customer clearing, requirements for processing of their positions and risk-management procedures that must be followed by clearing members.

The rules are expected to go into effect by Oct. 1.

“I have listened to and met with some who seem to think this rule … is going too far. But I don’t agree,” said Bart Chilton, a Democratic CFTC commissioner.

“What we are doing in this instance is a necessary step in the transition to safe and more efficient and effective markets,” he said.

Credit default swaps, a type of over-the-counter derivative, were blamed for amplifying market distress in 2008 as the world slipped into economic recession.

Congress in 2010 passed the Dodd-Frank law, which established a framework for regulators to boost oversight of the previously opaque $700 trillion OTC swaps market.

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) – The U.S. futures regulator on Tuesday will vote on rules outlining clearing requirements for swaps, a step regulators hope will increase transparency to Wall Street’s risky bets and make markets operate more smoothly.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission measures being finalized detail the documentation for customer clearing, requirements for processing of their positions and risk management procedures that must be followed by clearing members.

Credit default swaps, a type of over-the-counter derivative, were blamed for amplifying market distress in 2008 as the world slipped into economic recession.

Congress passed the Dodd-Frank law in 2010, which established a framework for regulators to use to boost oversight of the previously opaque $700 trillion OTC swaps market.

The law requires swaps dealers and large participants to trade swaps on exchanges or platforms known as swap execution facilities, and use clearinghouses that guarantee the trades to lower risk.

Swap data repositories would act as a warehouse to collect the information.

The CFTC rules establish documentation requirements that protect a customer by banning so-called tri-party agreements between customers; swap dealers and FCMs that are clearing members; and clearinghouses.

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) – U.S. financial market players are resigned to the idea that the Dodd-Frank financial reform package will not be overhauled and are preparing to cope with the new rules, insiders said on the sidelines of a Futures Industry Association meeting this week.

Trading firms, exchange operators and other industry players have made a political calculation that even if Republicans make a clean sweep in November elections, they will not rip up reforms sold as a way to guard against a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

Besides the presidential race, the election season will include pivotal races in both chambers of Congress, especially in the Senate, where a third of its 100 seats are up for grabs.

Even if the Senate, where Democrats now hold a narrow six-vote majority, goes Republican, lawmakers could be afraid to overhaul the controversial 2010 Dodd-Frank only to get blamed if another market collapse occurs.

Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have vowed to repeal Dodd-Frank.

Industry insiders, though, aren’t buying into the campaign promises.

“If the Republicans controlled everything I think they would be very hesitant to just gut the whole thing. Maybe you’d see some changes in some of the details of things but my sense is that the gist of stuff will go forward as planned,” said Donald Wilson Jr, chief executive of Chicago-based DRW Trading Group.

BOCA RATON, Fla (Reuters) – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Wednesday it charged a former MF Global broker with attempted manipulation of palladium and platinum futures prices during a two-year period on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The CFTC complaint alleges that Joseph Welsh, while working for the firm, used a manipulative scheme commonly known as “banging the close” between at least June 2006 through May 2008 on no fewer than 12 separate occasions to alter prices.

Banging the close occurs when a trader acquires a substantial position leading up to the closing period, and then offsets the position before the end of trading to try to manipulate closing prices.

“We have some new manipulation authority” under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law enacted in 2010, said Bart Chilton, a Democratic CFTC commissioner, speaking at the Futures Industry Association annual meeting in Boca Raton.

“We’re looking at all our authorities, including our new manipulation authority, and we’re going to use them as aggressively as we can,” continued Chilton, who was not speaking directly about this case.

The CFTC said in a statement it is seeking civil monetary penalties, trading and registration bans and a permanent injunction to stop further violations of the federal commodities laws against Welsh.

The complaint charges the former MF Global trader with directly attempting to manipulate the palladium and platinum futures prices and with aiding and abetting the attempted manipulations of Christopher L. Pia, a former portfolio manager of Moore Capital Management, LLC.

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s internal watchdog found agency employees working on its controversial position limits rule did not engage in wrongdoing, downplaying allegations by whistleblowers of misconduct.

The CFTC’s Office of the Inspector General conducted a preliminary investigation into allegations last year that the leader of the team writing the position limits rule was undermining the effort by removing senior employees and trying to push an unworkable rule.

The complaints revealed internal strife at the agency that is crafting dozens of reforms included in the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

The position limits rule, which curbs excessive speculation in the commodity markets, has been among the most politicized. Regulators are under immense pressure to try to keep down fuel prices ahead of the November elections.

“We found no evidence to sustain a preliminary finding of wrongdoing by any individual connected with the position limits and large swaps trader reporting rulemakings,” the inspector general’s report said.

“No witness presented evidence of corruption or violations of law in connection with the drafting of the position limits rule by the team lead or any other person who worked on the rule.”

The allegations, filed in August of last year, said the agency’s team leader for position limits “sneakily” got himself appointed to the role, and soon after removed more experienced members in order keep newer members who could be more easily manipulated.

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s internal watchdog found agency employees working on its controversial position limits rule did not engage in wrongdoing, downplaying allegations by whistleblowers of misconduct.

The CFTC’s Office of the Inspector General conducted a preliminary investigation into allegations last year that the leader of the team writing the position limits rule was undermining the effort by removing senior employees and trying to push an unworkable rule.

The complaints revealed internal strife at the agency that is crafting dozens of reforms included in the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

The position limits rule, which curbs excessive speculation in the commodity markets, has been among the most politicized. Regulators are under immense pressure to try to keep down fuel prices ahead of the November elections.

“We found no evidence to sustain a preliminary finding of wrongdoing by any individual connected with the position limits and large swaps trader reporting rulemakings,” the inspector general’s report said.

“No witness presented evidence of corruption or violations of law in connection with the drafting of the position limits rule by the team lead or any other person who worked on the rule.”

The allegations, filed in August of last year, said the agency’s team leader for position limits “sneakily” got himself appointed to the role, and soon after removed more experienced members in order keep newer members who could be more easily manipulated.

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. lawmakers have called on the country’s futures regulator to crack down on excessive speculation in oil markets as rising gasoline prices move to the forefront of the U.S. election campaign.

In a letter to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 23 senators and 45 members of the House of Representatives called on the agency to stop “dragging its feet” on implementing new regulations to stop Wall Street from dominating the oil market.

Meanwhile, gasoline prices are soaring, despite plenty of supply and low demand, the lawmakers charge.

“As the cost for American people to fill their gas tanks continues to skyrocket, the CFTC continues to drag its feet on imposing strict speculation limits to eliminate, prevent, or diminish excessive oil speculation,” the members of Congress told the commissioners in a letter.

“We urge you to take immediate action to impose strong and meaningful position limits, and to utilize all authorities available to you to make sure that the price of oil and gasoline reflects the fundamentals of supply and demand.”

The letter was signed by Senators Barbara Boxer, Bernie Sanders and John Rockefeller and Representatives Rosa DeLauro, among others. All the signers were Democrats except for Sanders, who is an independent.

U.S. gasoline prices have jumped nearly 30 cents over the past month and now average $3.77 a gallon, according to data from the American Automobile Association.

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) – U.S. Democratic lawmakers called on the country’s futures regulator to crack down on excessive speculation in oil markets as rising gasoline prices moves to the forefront of the U.S. election campaign.

In a letter to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 23 senators and 45 members of the House of Representatives called on the agency to stop “dragging its feet” on implementing new regulations to stop Wall Street from dominating the oil market.

Meanwhile, gasoline prices are soaring, despite plenty of supply and low demand, the lawmakers charge.

“As the cost for American people to fill their gas tanks continues to skyrocket, the CFTC continues to drag its feet on imposing strict speculation limits to eliminate, prevent, or diminish excessive oil speculation,” the members of Congress told the commissioners in a letter.

“We urge you to take immediate action to impose strong and meaningful position limits, and to utilize all authorities available to you to make sure that the price of oil and gasoline reflects the fundamentals of supply and demand.”

The letter was signed by Senators Barbara Boxer, Bernie Sanders and John Rockefeller and Representatives Rosa DeLauro, among others. All the signers were Democrats except for Sanders, an independent.

U.S. gasoline prices have jumped nearly 30 cents over the past month and now average $3.77 a gallon, according to data from the American Automobile Association.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. futures regulator may agree to raise the threshold used to identify the biggest swaps market traders to $3 billion, an agency official told Reuters on Friday, providing more relief to commodity merchants and corporations that have fiercely fought the rule.

The $3 billion cut-off, based on the notional value of a company’s annual swaps trade, will determine which market participants are deemed swap dealers, saddling them with more onerous capital requirements and higher hedging costs.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has been steadily increasing the proposed de minimis exemption since it first proposed a level of $100 million in December 2010, and the regulations have proven some of the most complicated of the agency’s large Dodd-Frank reforms agenda.

Credit default swaps, a type of over-the-counter derivative, were blamed for amplifying market distress in 2008 as the world slipped into economic recession.

Several months ago the agency was considering $1 billion, then it moved up to $2 billion in recent weeks, sources have said. The moving target has caused repeated delays in the rule, which is being crafted with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Now, the cut-off appears set to rise again after officials grew concerned that even a $2 billion limit would unfairly capture legitimate hedgers in the agriculture or energy markets – players that don’t create systemic risk or problems to the marketplace. Big banks have long expected to be swap dealers.

“I think as a general rule we’re reaching a pretty good balance,” said the CFTC official with knowledge of the regulation, adding it is inevitable that some people will say they are unfairly being defined as a swap dealer.