US anti-monopoly agency: closely monitoring the oil market for any price manipulation behavior.

According to CBS News, US antitrust regulators said on Friday that they are closely monitoring the oil market for potential price manipulation or market monopolies, and are urging state attorneys general to assist in investigating illegal activities. "Recent fluctuations in oil prices do not mean that antitrust laws or state consumer protection laws can be ignored, and companies cannot be allowed to manipulate retail prices or collude with competitors," officials from the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission stated in a letter to the states. They added, "Companies cannot use market fluctuations as a cover to engage in anti-competitive practices, fraud, or any other illegal behavior that harms the interests of the American people." In the letter, Deputy Attorney General Stanley Woodward and FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, who are in charge of the antitrust departments, also suggested that states can help combat price gouging behaviors.