CFTC chief, industry reps to appear before Congress amid concern over wheat prices

September 30th, 2009 Elevators full of unsold wheat amid fall harvestWICHITA, Kan. — Amid a global glut of wheat stockpiles, grain elevators across parts of the Great Plains remain crammed with unsold winter wheat as facilities brace for expected bumper fall harvests of corn, sorghum and soybeans.

September 22nd, 2009 Rains stall winter wheat seeding in Great PlainsWICHITA, Kan. — Widespread rains across parts of the Great Plains have stalled winter wheat seeding, fueling anxiety at a time of bountiful global stockpiles and plummeting prices.

September 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Wholesale prices of rice rose more than 13 percent in the past one year due to a demand-supply mismatch, says the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham). The industry forum said the price of wheat similarly rose by about five percent.

September 1st, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The non-linking of the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat and paddy with the wholesale price index (WPI) has led to a cumulative notional loss of nearly Rs.62,000 crore for farmers in Punjab over the past four decades, a report to the state government says. The report of the committee on MSP and price index, set up by the Punjab government, was submitted to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Tuesday.

August 12th, 2009 Amaranth settles energy manipulation complaintNEW YORK — Collapsed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC will pay $7.5 million to settle a federal complaint that at least one of its traders tried to manipulate natural gas prices. Not included in the settlement was Brian Hunter, once the head of trading at Amaranth, which folded after losing some $6 billion on bad bets in the natural gas markets in 2006.

August 5th, 2009 Top investor defends role in oil, gas marketsWASHINGTON — Speculators shouldn't be blamed for the huge swings in oil and natural gas prices over the past 18 months, a leading commodity investor told government regulators Wednesday. John Hyland, chief investment officer for a firm that manages oil and natural gas funds, said his funds have instead helped reduce price volatility by buying oil and gas futures as prices fell and selling as prices rose.

July 28th, 2009 Gov't considers limits on energy tradingWASHINGTON — Marking a potential shift for the government, federal regulators may be moving toward setting limits on speculative energy trading, blamed by some for widening the oil price swings that have punished industries and consumers. The head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is weighing new restraints, on Tuesday faulted "excessive" speculation but also underscored the role of financial investors in helping to set fair prices that can benefit consumers.

July 27th, 2009 To ease price swings, US may limit energy tradingWASHINGTON — Federal regulators are hearing from from consumers, businesses, traders and financial firms as they consider imposing limits on speculative trading of energy futures contracts — a move that would mark a major shift for the government. The futures contracts are supposed to lessen price volatility.

July 21st, 2009 CFTC may restrict trades over wheat price concernsWASHINGTON — Federal regulators are "seriously considering" restrictions in the wheat futures market being urged by lawmakers concerned over speculation they say has artificially inflated prices, hampering risk management by farmers and grain processors. A yearlong investigation by the investigative panel of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found that the disconnect between the wheat futures and cash markets can mean higher prices for consumers.

July 21st, 2009 Obama to nominate Sommers to another CFTC termWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he intends to nominate Jill Sommers to another term as a commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The White House says Sommers' term expired on April 13, 2009.

July 7th, 2009 CFTC may impose limits on energy futuresWASHINGTON — Federal regulators will examine whether the government should impose limits on the number of futures contracts in oil and other energy commodities held by speculative traders, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Tuesday. The agency will hold a public hearing later this month to gather views from consumers, businesses and market participants on the idea of new limits for energy futures contracts, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said in a statement.

May 13th, 2009 US winter wheat forecast down about 20 percentWICHITA, Kan. — The nation's farmers are expected to harvest about 20 percent less winter wheat this season, in part because of fewer planted acres and exacerbated by floods and other weather conditions, the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service said.

May 6th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Wheat procurement in Punjab has touched an all-time high - higher than the target of 10.05 million tonnes set by the government agencies this year, the chief minister's office said here Wednesday. A record 10.06 million tonnes of wheat was procured by Punjab and central government procurement agencies till Tuesday evening, officials said.

March 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has urged political parties to refrain from offering free power and foodgrains like wheat and rice at highly subsidised rates, saying such freebies could stunt economic growth in the long run. In an appeal to political parties Wednesday, Assocham said they should balance their offer of free power to farmers and others with specific steps to prevent misuse.

January 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In a bid to boost procurement of grains and provide competitive prices to farmers, the minimum support price (MSP) for rabi crop for the 2008-09 season has been raised, the government said here Thursday. The MSP of wheat, which earlier was Rs.1,000 per quintal for the 2008-09 marketing season, has been raised by Rs.80 to Rs.1,080 per quintal.