FACTBOX-ICE answers questions on large, speculative positions

July 30 (Reuters) - Following are the written answers from
the Intercontinental Exchange to questions asked by Reuters on
large position holders on the exchange.

QUESTION

Does ICE have any plans to publish the number of outstanding
speculative or non-commercial short and long positions for Brent
or gas oil in the way the CFTC does?

ANSWER

No, Brent and gas oil are European contracts and positions
are reported directly to the FSA, which is the exchange's
regulator.

QUESTION

Does ICE have any plans to publish names of dominant holders
of physcial and futures contracts?

ANSWER

No futures exchange publishes the names of its participants.
However, ICE Futures Europe does provide large trader reports
with the required information to the CFTC via FSA agreement, in
addition to providing position information to the FSA on a daily
basis.

QUESTION

If the CFTC increases the regulatory burden, will this have
a knock-on effect on trading on the ICE?

ANSWER

The ICE Futures Europe contracts that are subject to U.S.
oversight via a CFTC 'no action' letter, namely WTI (West Texas
Intermediate or U.S. crude), will be subject to any
modifications that the CFTC makes in its U.S. regulatory regime.

QUESTION

CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said yesterday (July 28)
exchanges rarely execute their authority to require participants
to decrease or refrain from increasing the size of their
positions after passing accountability levels.

How frequently does the ICE manage positions in the market
-- is it a regular occurrence? How many times have traders been
asked to reduce positions so far this year?

ANSWER

ICE Futures Europe surveillance team may and has required
positions to be reduced in the event the positions are deemed to
be above allowable limits.

As ICE Futures Europe does not typically see market
participants with excessive positions, this is not an activity
that is regularly required, though positions are reviewed each
day in each contract market and actions are taken when
necessary.
(Reporting by David Sheppard; editing by James Jukwey)