Sarkozy calls for end to speculation

Allier: Agricultural commodity markets need better rules and more information on stockpiles to curb speculation, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

“The markets for commodity derivatives must be regulated,” Sarkozy said during a visit to the Allier region in central France.

“We have no visibility on the stocks. We must have this transparency.”

Wheat as much as doubled since June and corn jumped 65% as Russia’s worst drought in at least a half century, flooding in Canada and parched fields in Kazakhstan and Europe ruined crops. A lack of information about stockpiles caused “panic”, Sarkozy said.

France holds the presidency of the G20 in 2011.