After the CFTC issued 16 of those letters, speculation grew to more than 80 percent of the activity on the commodity exchanges, a Congressional staffer told Taibbi.

FORBES: CFTC Limits On Speculation -- Good For The Economy?

This is the benchmark gasoline product traded on the major commodity exchanges.

FORBES: Commodities Turn the Corner

Reg NMS does not cover commodity exchanges, which allows the member-owned, floor-trading New York Mercantile Exchange to sustain its old ways although competition from the all-electronic IntercontinentalExchange could also force it to change.

ECONOMIST: Good times rarely last