The Federal Trade Commission today issued a Final Rule that will prohibit market manipulation in the petroleum industry. The Rule will prohibit fraud or deceit in wholesale petroleum markets, and omissions of material information that are likely to distort petroleum markets. The FTC’s approval of the Rule concludes a proceeding that incorporated several rounds of public comment. The Final Rule will become effective on November 4, 2009. The Commission issued this Rule under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, pursuant to a provision included by Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington State. “This new Rule will allow us to crack down on fraud and manipulation that can drive up prices at the pump,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “We will police the oil markets – and if we find companies that are manipulating the markets, we will go after them.” The Final Rule announced today retains the anti-fraud approach of the April 2009 revised proposed rule. The Rule prohibits fraudu...