On April 17, nearly $2 billion in Brent, WTI, gasoil & #gasoline #futures were sold at 1224-1225 GMT, MINUTES before Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said #Hormuz would reopen, followed by multiple social media posts by #Trump & #US officials. On April 21, some $830 ​million worth of Brent & WTI contracts were sold just 15 minutes before Trump extended the ceasefire.

#MarketManipulation #corruption #government #CFTC #SEC #law #TrumpsWar #IranWar #Iran #war #oil

The trades look "well informed" as they preceded major announcements, said Adi Imsirovic, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (#CSIS), & a veteran #oil trader. #US authorities, such as the #CFTC, can access #exchange data to trace who placed the trades & investigate if it decides to, he added.
The CFTC’s enforcement director said in March the agency was aware of speculation regarding #InsiderTrading in CFTC-regulated #markets & was “watching”.

#Trump #MarketManipulation #law

…However, a further analysis of #trading data across exchanges & contracts showed traders executed similar bets at exactly the same dates & times for European #diesel & #US #gasoline #futures as well as longer-dated contracts for Brent & WTI, bringing the total to around $7 billion, based on Reuters calculations.

#Trump #MarketManipulation #corruption #securities #finance #economy #government #CFTC #SEC #law #TrumpsWar #IranWar #US #Iran #war #oil

Reuters & other media reported those trades on the most actively traded front-month contracts for the 2 global crude benchmarks, Brent & West ​Texas Intermediate . The value of those bets on those 4 days in March & April stood at around $2.6 billion, acc/to Reuters initial calculations.

The #DOJ & #CFTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

#Trump #MarketManipulation #corruption #securities #finance #economy #government #SEC #law #TrumpsWar #IranWar #US #Iran #war #oil

The same pattern repeated on April 7, before #Trump announced a ceasefire with #Iran that triggered a fall of as much as 15% in benchmark ICE Brent #futures. It happened again on April 17, when Iranian officials ​& Trump spoke about reopening the #StraitOfHormuz, & then again on April 21, when Trump extended the ceasefire.

#MarketManipulation #corruption #securities #finance #economy #government #CFTC #SEC #law #TrumpsWar #IranWar #US #Iran #war #geopolitics #NationalSecurity #oil

The well-timed trades have triggered calls from #legal experts & lawmakers for regulators to investigate whether they ​were based on inside information or leaks.

Traders first spotted unusual trades on March 23. The trades were executed MINUTES before #Trump announced a delay to threatened attacks on Iranian power ⁠infrastructure, triggering an #oil price fall.

#MarketManipulation #corruption #securities #finance #economy #government #CFTC #SEC #law #TrumpsWar #IranWar #US #Iran #war

Reuters could not establish who placed the bets & whether they originated in the #US or elsewhere. They included short positions, or bets that prices would fall, for derivatives including #ICE, #CME crude, #diesel & #gasoline #futures.

The bets took place on 2 major exchanges that host benchmark global #oil & #fuel futures #trade: the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) & Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

#Trump #MarketManipulation #securities #finance #economy #CFTC #SEC #law #TrumpsWar #IranWar