CFTC says no evidence of oil manipulation, hoarding

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission told Congress on Thursday there is no evidence that market traders are working together to push up crude oil prices or that oil supplies are being hoarded.

"We have no evidence that people are hoarding oil," CFTC Chairman Walter Lukken told a House Appropriations subcommittee.

He also said the CFTC doesn't "see systemically in the current market" that traders are "working together" to drive up prices.

Separately, he said the CFTC and other members of an interagency task force plan to give Congress an interim report "in the coming weeks" on the role speculators have played in the crude oil market.

The other agencies in the task force include the Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Federal Reserve and the Energy Information Administration.

Many U.S. lawmakers blame investments by hedge funds, pension funds and other speculators for causing higher prices for crude oil, corn and a variety of commodities.

"We haven't evidence that speculators are broadly driving these prices," Lukken said.

Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who chairs the House subcommittee, accused the CFTC of not doing enough to rein in excessive speculation and protect consumers from soaring fuel prices.