The Intercontinental Exchange, the US energy market which failed to secure backing for its $11.4bn (€8.35bn) bid to buy the Chicago Board of Trade, has denied its regulation played a part in the collapse of hedge fund Amaranth, which last year lost more than $6bn on wrong bets over the price of natural gas.

ICE, the New York Mercantile Exchange and US futures regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission yesterday appeared before a US Senate committee investigating regulatory oversight of the US energy markets and whether a loophole allowed Amaranth Advisors to build massive positions on ICE leading to the hedge fund's collapse with debt of $6.4bn.