FT: Traders Bet $580 Million in Oil Market 15 Minutes Before Trump's Iran Negotiation-Related Post

Odaily News At approximately 6:49 to 6:50 AM New York time on Monday, around 6,200 Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures contracts were traded, with a notional value of $580 million. Roughly 15 minutes later, former US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, stating that there had been "productive conversations" with Iran in recent days.

Following the post's publication at 7:04 AM, a significant sell-off occurred in global energy markets, while S&P 500 index futures and European stock markets rose. Trading volumes for both Brent and WTI futures spiked simultaneously in the 27 seconds leading up to 6:50 AM, and S&P 500 futures prices also increased within seconds of the oil trades. It remains unclear whether a single entity or multiple entities were behind Monday's trading activity.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai stated that the White House does not tolerate any officials using insider information for illegal profit and called it irresponsible reporting to suggest official involvement in such activities without evidence.

Several hedge funds pointed out that there have been multiple instances of large trades occurring just before official US government announcements in recent months. One hedge fund trader noted that energy advisors have recently flagged several unusually timed block trades. Subsequently, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf denied on platform X that any negotiations had taken place between Washington and Tehran, leading to a pullback in global equities and renewed buying in energy markets. (Financial Times)