Setting margin requirements has been in the purview of the exchange, which in the case of crude oil is the Nymex. While the federal government can jawbone, it currently has no role in setting the margin requirements either for commercial or speculative traders.
What are the chances that changing the margin requirements for speculative trades could get through Congress? Slim and none.
Paul Ausick
Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
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