US food giant Kraft has been accused of fixing the price of wheat, triggering an investigation by the US Commodity and Futures Commission (CTFC). According to the allegations, the company bought $90 million (£61 million) of wheat futures but had no intention of taking delivery.
Aitan Goelman, the CFTC’s Director of Enforcement, stated: “This case goes to the core of the CFTC’s mission: protecting market participants and the public from manipulation and abusive practices that undermine the integrity of the derivatives markets. A market participant who is not happy with cash prices available to it may not resort to manipulative trading strategies in an attempt to artificially lower that price.”
