Energy Industry Applauds CFTC Rule

The U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued their final definitions of financial products regulated under the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule maintains that forward contracts, which cover delivery of physical goods and, according to Platts, currently constitute most energy market trades are not swaps, which are purely financial exchanges. Examples of forward contracts in energy markets include environmental commodities, peak supply contracts, tolling agreements and many natural gas supply contracts. The ruling is significant because it keeps much of energy market outside of the jurisdiction of the CFTC, which is expanded by the Dodd-Frank Act. The ruling has been been called… [more]