Oil traders fear for London’s position

Oil traders on both sides of the Atlantic gave warning that American efforts to extend US regulation to include the London oil market risked simply channelling the trade offshore to Dubai and Singapore.

The protests follow the emergence of a dispute between US and UK regulators over oil market oversight in the City of London, amid claims that speculators are partly to blame for crude prices that have soared to record highs of $139 per barrel.

Phil Flynn, a trader at Alaron Trading in Chicago, said: