CFTC Won't Delay Position Limits

--CFTC declines to delay implementation of position limits in response to lawsuit filed by SIFMA, ISDA

--Votes 3-to-2 against delaying limits

WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has rejected a request by two trade groups to delay its implementation of position limits aimed at curtailing bets in the commodities markets, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The two groups, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, made the request in joint lawsuits against the CFTC filed last month. The CFTC voted down the request by a vote of 3-to-2, these people said, through a process known as seriatim that was finalized Tuesday.

In the suits, which the agency is fighting, the trade groups asked for the rule on commodities trading to be thrown out, or for regulators to be forced to justify the necessity of the limits before they go into effect, currently scheduled to occur on a phased-in basis beginning as early as this year. They also asked that the CFTC delay the rule pending the outcome of the lawsuits.

The rule aims to cap the positions firms can take in certain commodity contracts in order to curb sharp price increases. It was mandated by the Dodd- Frank financial overhaul even though commodity trading had little to do with the financial crisis. The rule gained traction in Congress during an oil-price spike in 2008, which some attributed to excessive speculation by short-term traders.

-By Andrew Ackerman, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-569-8390; andrew.ackerman@ dowjones.com

 (END) Dow Jones Newswires 01-03-122055ET Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.