The Commodities Futures Trading Commission will be looking at the role of speculators in recent volatile commodities pricing, Commissioner Bart Chilton told CNBC Friday.
"We’re not price setters but we’re supposed to make sure these markets are efficient, that they’re effective, and they’re devoid of any fraud, abuse or manipulation, and I get particularly concerned about that last one, manipulation," he said. He said speculators won't be the sole focus of the probe.
"This is extreme volatility that we’ve seen and I don’t think that’s good for markets, for traders or, most importantly, for consumers. We just need to make sure that prices are based upon fundamentals."
He understands commodities are commonly used by investors as safe havens but "everything can’t be a safe haven against the dollar. I understand precious metals may be a safe haven, maybe crude oil, but coffee, cocao, sugar? I think it begs the question to make sure these markets are operating under the fundamentals."