WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission has issued a rule that could result in fines of up to $1 million if traders or companies are found manipulating fuel markets.

The rule appears to be in response to mounting pressure on the federal government to regulate oil markets and trading.

The rule gives the commission the power "to crack down on fraud and manipulation that can drive up prices at the pump," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement announcing the regulation.

"We will police the oil markets - and if we find companies that are manipulating the markets, we will go after them," Leibowitz said.

The manipulation rule, which takes effect Nov. 4, was issued by the FTC last month under powers given the commission by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

The rule is aimed at the wholesale oil market and prohibits such conduct as "false public announcements of planned pricing or output decisions, false statistical or data reporting," and sales intended to hide the actual liquidity of a market or the price of a product.

The rule also prohibits what the commission calls "material omissions from a statement that, although true, is misleading under the circumstances."

The FTCs rulemaking followed news that the Commodities Futures Trading Commission is also developing new regulations to prevent excessive speculation in oil futures contracts. (See Aug. 15 Bus & Motorcoach News.)

Many sectors of the transportation industry, including the motorcoach industry, as well as ordinary consumers, have been pressing for more scrutiny of oil markets ever since last years record-setting prices for gasoline and diesel fuel.

Most recently, despite the severe recession and huge fuel inventories worldwide, prices have been rising for both diesel and gasoline, closely following crude oil prices that have topped $70 a barrel this summer when they were half that price this past winter.

Under its new rule, the FTC now has the power to address any deliberate manipulation in the energy markets, said commission spokesman Mitchell Katz.

"We didnt have any authority in this area until we wrote the regulation," he said.

Until the rule was adopted by the commission, Katz said, the FTC could collect only civil penalties and the limit was $16,000 per violation per day.