Energy firms use high-tech tools to avert manipulation fines

As regulators tighten their scrutiny of commodities trading and impose costly penalties for market manipulation, energy firms are stepping up investment in trade surveillance. But properly implementing trade surveillance systems in commodity markets is not easy, finds Alexander Osipovich

In recent years, regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have toughened their scrutiny of energy trading and launched high-profile probes of market manipulation, some of which have resulted in fines worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Fearful of the potential costs, energy trading firms are responding by hiring small armies of compliance specialists and ordering their traders to undergo rigorous training.

Technology is a critical piece of that effort. Industry sources say banks, utilities