Bodman Says EIA Data Is `Reliable,’ Unaware of Probe

(Bloomberg) — U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman today defended the reliability of market data supplied to the Energy Information Administration and said he was unaware of a probe of participants providing false information.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is examining whether certain players provided false data to the EIA, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, to benefit their trading positions. Bodman spoke to reporters after giving a speech in Washington.


The agency would not confirm or deny the investigation. Earlier this year the commission took the unusual step of announcing a nationwide investigation into the trading, purchase, shipping and storage of crude oil.

“The CFTC has already announced one enforcement action in the crude oil markets that resulted from the agency’s nationwide crude oil investigation and these investigative efforts are ongoing,” Ianthe Zabel, an agency spokeswoman, said in an e- mail. “Ensuring the integrity of the futures markets is critical, particularly in the energy sector given the impact energy prices have on all consumers.”

Bloomberg