-- Two US senators on Friday urged the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to investigate what they described as suspicious trading in crude futures ahead of President Trump's updates on the Middle East conflict on two different occasions in March and April.
The lawmakers, in a letter addressed to CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig, said large, well-timed bets were placed shortly before two major policy statements on Mar. 23 and Apr. 7, 2026, potentially indicating misuse of non-public government information.
"This pattern raises serious questions about whether there has been recurring misappropriation of
material nonpublic government information and about the extent to which individuals inside or
outside the government have acted on such information," the lawmakers said in a letter.
The letter said that traders placed about $950 million bet on falling oil prices on Apr. 7, hours before Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The announcement sent oil prices plunging by about 15%.
The lawmakers said oil futures volume surged on Mar. 23 just before Trump announced talks to de-escalate the war, a move that lowered crude prices and boosted stock indexes.
Reports indicate unidentified traders on the New York Mercantile Exchange made a $500 million "oil bet" minutes before the announcement, the letter said.
"There was no public news preceding the announcement to explain the price movement," the Senators said.
The lawmakers also pointed to what they described as a broader pattern of market activity anticipating major administration decisions.
The letter cited a Reuters review identifying other instances involving equity options and prediction markets where traders appeared to profit ahead of policy announcements.
It also referred to reported gains tied to an April 2025 tariff pause announcement, as well as bets on political developments in Venezuela and on potential US military action against Iran earlier this year.
The Senators asked whether the CFTC's Division of Enforcement had opened investigations into the March and April oil trades, and, if not, why not. The lawmakers also requested details on the agency's surveillance mechanisms and coordination with exchanges to detect unusual trading patterns.