WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is moving toward adopting a proposal in early December to rein in excessive speculation in energy markets by setting hard limits on positions investor entities can hold in a contract.

Bart Chilton, one of five CFTC commissioners, said until a draft is completed it will be difficult to determine where the commission stands as an entity, but there is a broad understanding "that there are issues that need to be addressed and that doing nothing is not an option."

"I think there will be" position limits, Chilton told Reuters in an interview.

"I don't want to prejudge where we'll be specifically, but if I had to guess where we'll come out, ultimately I believe that there will be hard position limits ... for energy commodities and for other physical commodities" such as metals, he said.