Washington, 13 April 2010

A plan by the top U.S. futures regulator to curb speculation in energy markets could hurt new or smaller exchanges trying to compete with larger players, the IntercontinentalExchange said in a letter released on Tuesday. ICE, which offers energy contracts that would be affected by the proposal told the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission -- which is accepting comments on the idea until April 26 -- that it should hold off on moving forward. The proposal risks being "anti-competitive" because it would limit positions not only across all exchanges, but also at individual exchanges, based on open interest seen in the previous year.

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