Commodity benchmarks vulnerable to manipulation: study

Geneva

ALMOST two-thirds of commodity market participants say that benchmarks used to set the price of everything from crude oil to ethanol to zinc are vulnerable to manipulation, according to a new study.

The report, to be published on Monday by UK law firm Clyde & Co, shows that 64 per cent of 170 respondents are concerned methods used by price reporting agencies to set commodity benchmarks could be manipulated. Reasons given in the survey include sample groups that are too small, a lack of independent oversight and that price creators are also traders who can benefit from influencing prices.