CFTC Probes Suspicious Crude Trades Before Trump Iran Policy Shift

## CFTC Probes Suspicious Crude Trades Before Trump Iran Policy Shift The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating a series of "well-timed" crude oil trades that occurred before major Trump policy shifts on Iran, raising insider trading concerns, according to people familiar with the matter. ## Focus: Two Key Events The CFTC investigation focuses on at least two instances over about two weeks where trading volumes spiked before major announcements: - Event One (March 23): About 15 minutes before Trump announced via Truth Social that he would delay a strike on Iranian energy facilities, billions of dollars in crude and stock index futures saw abnormal trading. Trump's statement caused crude prices to plummet and stocks to surge. - Event Two (April 7): Hours before Trump announced a two-week ceasefire deal between the US and Iran, futures activity increased noticeably. Reports said investors suddenly sold 8,600 Brent and WTI futures contracts worth about $950 million in aggregate in an inactive period after market settlement, less than three hours before the ceasefire announcement. The news caused crude futures to plunge about 15% at the next open. ## Scope and Methods The CFTC is investigating crude oil futures contracts traded on CME Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Regulators have requested data from both exchanges, including so-called "Tag 50 identifiers" that can identify the entity behind trades. Since WTI crude trades on CME's New York Mercantile Exchange, the CFTC can directly access data. But for Brent crude traded in London, any data requests would need to go through the UK Financial Conduct Authority. ## Political Pressure and Next Steps Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse have urged the CFTC to investigate these abnormal trades, questioning whether there has been repeated misuse of material nonpublic government information. Last month, the White House also issued an internal memo warning employees not to use sensitive information to trade in financial markets or event-driven betting platforms. CFTC Enforcement Director David Miller said in late March the agency is monitoring potential misconduct in crude oil futures trading but declined to comment on specific investigations. CME, ICE, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Editor: Zhang Jun SF065