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Malaysia: State energy firm dismisses Brent benchmark manipulation claims

By  |  November 12, 2013

Malaysia’s state energy firm Petroliam Nasional said it will continue to use the Brent benchmark for buying and selling oil despite multinational claims of benchmark manipulation, say reports.

Petroliam Nasional CEO Shamsul Azhar Abbas said he does not see “any manipulation” of the Brent benchmark, despite lawsuits that claim otherwise.

The US currently has seven pending suits against companies including NP, Statoil, Royal Dutch Shell and others. The cases claim the companies colluded with Morgan Stanley and traders to manipulate the benchmark rate and fix gas prices.

Last week, four traders claimed they have proof that the collusion occurred.

Additional cases have appeared within Europe, as the European Commission raided the offices of Platts, NP and Shell earlier this year over allegations of oil price-fixing.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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