TOTSA TotalEnergies Trading to pay $48 million for attempted market manipulation By Reuters

(Reuters) – The U.S. commodities regulator on Tuesday ordered Swiss energy trader TOTSA TotalEnergies (EPA: ) Trading SA to pay a $48 million fine, alleging the company tried to manipulate the market for oil futures European reference gasoline.

“The scheme in this matter involved an attack on the integrity of the CFTC-regulated gasoline futures market, and this settlement demonstrates that such attacks will not be tolerated in any market,” said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s director of enforcement. of the USA, Ian McGinley, in a statement. .

The parent company, TotalEnergies SE, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to the CFTC, in March 2018, the company flooded the market for physical EBOB benchmark gasoline at discounted prices while maintaining a large short position, betting that EBOB futures would decline in value.

The move amounted to losing money on physical sales to increase the value of the short position, according to the CFTC. EBOB is a gasoline benchmark used primarily in Europe that the CFTC said trades on the exchanges it regulates.

The agency said the company offered some cooperation with investigators but did not adequately preserve some WhatsApp instant messages or produce them in a timely manner.