Dow Jones newswires reports:
Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ... said he thinks “the public deserves some answers to their concerns that silver markets are being, and have been, manipulated.”
“I believe there have been repeated attempts to influence prices in the silver markets,” he said. “There have been fraudulent efforts to persuade and deviously control that price.”
He urged prosecution of those who may have violated the law, but said he can’t prejudge what the agency will do with its investigation.
Reuters confirms:
Commissioner Bart Chilton said ... the silver market needs attention. "I believe that there have been repeated attempts to influence prices in the silver markets. There have been fraudulent efforts to persuade and deviously control that price," Chilton said. He declined to provide further details. The CFTC began a probe into allegations of manipulation in silver in September 2008, but has not provided information about when it hopes to conclude. See this for background. It is unclear whether the CFTC will take any real action to stop the manipulation, whether the CFTC will sweep the issue under the rug, or whether Chilton's statements are an attempt to restore the reputation of the CFTC after 1 of its 2 administrative law judges accused the other of vowing never to rule for a complainant.
