FAO want to reinstate commodity rules from before deregulation

Did you know only people involved in physical trading were allowed to trade in commodities before 1999?

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7120OE20110203?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

 

If you are not a producer or bonafide hedger, margins should be much more conservative.

 

Only speculators that buy up the physical commodities and storage them are able to drive up prices. Speculators trading in futures, or "pure speculators" as the FAO director calls them, have no net effect on prices as they close out all positions before the future expires.

 

Not true. In the early '80s, I traded live cattle and sugar... and never took delivery.

 

Yes, Scataphagos. It was ironic. The number of wannabee commodity regulators is impressive lately.

 

Doesn't removing liquidity actually make it easier for someone to drive the price in a certain direction?

 

the more speculators, the more accurate the price. Price discovery is helped by having lots of participants. Speculator does not automatically =buyer. People that don't understand the basic nature of the markets are the ones who blame the 'evil speculators' for high prices

 

i'm not sure i agree with that. if by "accurate" you mean "based on supply and demand" then i have a hard time believing that the more speculators, the more accurate the price in a QE world.