Sarkozy calls for crackdown on commodity speculators

www.euractiv.com French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday called for tighter controls on the speculators he blames for spiralling food and energy prices, spelling out reforms to put more trading under the thumb of regulators. Sarkozy, head of the G20 group of the world’s leading economies, said he wants to extend the use of cash deposits to all derivative deals, not just those on formal exchanges as is current practice. The French president’s proposals are designed to rally support throughout the European Union support for a regulatory crackdown on speculating on commodities from oil to grain. “Following the United States and Europe, all G20 countries should commit themselves to this way forward,” said Sarkozy, drawing parallels between regulating against financial speculation and combating the mafia. If successful, Sarkozy’s proposals would widen the international scope for regulating commodities to include both trading of actual raw materials and informal over-the-counter deals which are not recorded centrally, news agency Reuters reported.