No evidence of rigging in wholesale gas market say regulators
There is no evidence of rigging in the wholesale gas market, according to regulators Ofgem and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Allegations that the gas market had been subject to market manipulation were made on 28 September 2012.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Ofgem said:
Ofgem and the Financial Conduct Authority have conducted a review of allegations of manipulation of the gas market in Great Britain… It has been concluded that no evidence of the alleged market manipulation could be found and therefore that the interests of consumers have not been harmed.
The allegations made concerned the price of gas being sold at 58p/therm. This price was allegedly "lower than the price of the best bid to buy gas at the time in order to manipulate the benchmark price produced by price reporting agencies."
The sellers of the six trades in question each provided explanations to the regulators, with evidence to support their claims that there had been no wrongdoing. The regulators found the explanations and evidence satisfactory and said no further action is required.
The physical gas market is regulated by Ofgem while the FCA regulates the financial derivatives based on this market.