Forum to Address Market Volatility

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced that it will hold a public meeting on April 22 in Washington to "discuss recent events affecting the agriculture markets – including the lack of convergence between the futures and cash prices, higher margin requirements and the impact on market participants, and the role of speculators and commodity index traders."

"These historic market conditions, particularly in wheat and cotton, require the CFTC to hear firsthand from participants to ensure that the exchanges are functioning properly to discover prices and manage risk," CFTC Acting Chairman Walt Lukken said.

National Cotton Council President/CEO Mark Lange wrote Lukken and ICE Futures CEO Thomas Farley on March 11, expressing serious concerns about the recent events in which the Number 2 contract failed to adequately provide orderly price discovery and hedging functions.

The American Cotton Shippers Association and AMCOT wrote ICE expressing similar concerns and urged ICE to work to immediately return the contract to – "a viable, healthy, efficient and orderly contract which attracted traders from throughout the world."

To read letters submitted to ICE Futures, U.S., and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by the American Cotton Shippers Association and the National Cotton Council, see: www.cottongrower.com/articles/cg_200804_p26_limit.html