Bart Chilton, commissioner with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, called for broader powers to police manipulation, citing a heavy burden of proof for the agency not shared by other regulators.

The CFTC, which regulates oil, agriculture, and other important US futures markets, faces several hurdles before alleging market manipulation. It must not only show a trader pushed prices to “artificial” levels, but also show they had the ability and intent to do so.