Comment Text:
Ja Sto
750 Samson Ave
Phillipsburg, NJ 08865-4440
March 24, 2011
David Stawick
Secretary, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Three Lafayette Centre
1155 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20581
Dear Mr. Stawick:
These comments are regarding Silver, Gold, Oil, Sugar, Wheat and Corn in particular, and all other commodities in addition to these. We can watch the trading going on in live commodities markets and we are aware of the churning and trading for profits that occur. Large banks and their trading desks are taking large positions and pushing prices around to earn trading profits, costing us all much suffering and much higher prices as a result.
At times we can see one or two large traders taking a position that is more than HALF the annual production of some of these commodities and precious metals.
Excessive speculation hurt the economy in 2008 and, once again, is harming the economy in 2011. According to data recently released by the Commission, speculators have raised their positions in energy markets by
64 percent compared to June 2008, bringing speculation to the highest level on record.
We need meaningful, effective speculative position limits to restore balance to commodities markets and ensure that they are connected to market fundamentals, so that they fulfill their price-discovery function properly and without distortions caused by excessive speculation. In particular, I:
• support the Commission's immediate adoption of spot-month speculative position limits; • urge the Commission to adopt effective back-month levels that will accomplish the legislative purpose of curbing excessive speculation; • urge the Commission to adopt single-month limits that are no higher than two-thirds of the all-months-combined levels; • urge the Commission immediately to adopt a position-accountability regime for the nonspot months in place of its proposed position-visibility rule; and • urge the Commission to adopt lower speculative position limits for passive, long-only traders.
Time is of the essence, and I urge you to act quickly. Our pocketbooks and the broader economy depend on it.
DO YOUR JOB, or RETIRE so someone else can do what is necessary and LONG OVERDUE.
Sincerely,
Ja Sto
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