"Oil Prices Soar Then Plunge?"...CME Chairman Warns "Biblical Disaster If U.S. Intervened"

Remarks Made After Reports of Suspected U.S. Treasury Intervention in the Futures Market

Terry Duffy, CEO of CME Group, which operates the U.S. crude oil futures exchange, warned that if the Donald Trump administration intervenes in the market to artificially lower oil prices, it would cause a "Biblical Disaster."

On the 13th, when the maximum price system that sets an upper limit on fuel selling prices was implemented, a gas station in Seoul was selling gasoline for 1,798 won per liter and diesel for 1,758 won per liter. According to the Korea National Oil Corporation's price information system OPPINET, the average gasoline price at gas stations nationwide was 1,893.3 won per liter, down 5.5 won from the previous day. Photo by Kang Jinhyeong, March 13, 2026

Major foreign media outlets, including the Financial Times (FT), reported on March 12 (local time) that CEO Duffy said at a conference held in Florida that "if the U.S. government intervenes in the futures market to curb rising oil prices, market trust will disappear."

Duffy's comments came after foreign media reported that the U.S. Treasury Department was considering measures to lower oil prices, including intervention in the futures market. According to Bloomberg and other outlets, the U.S. Treasury had reportedly considered directly intervening in the crude oil futures market to curb rising international oil prices. This would involve using government funds to buy and sell crude oil in the futures market to ease upward price pressure, a strategy similar to those used by hedge funds to respond to market movements.

The Trump administration announced on March 11 that it would release millions of barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to mitigate the impact of oil price shocks. Analysts said the administration could pursue other measures to protect U.S. consumers, such as temporarily suspending federal taxes on gasoline, easing environmental regulations on fuel, or temporarily banning exports of U.S.-produced crude oil.

However, the sharp fluctuations in oil prices in recent days have fueled speculation in the energy industry that the Treasury Department may have already intervened in the futures market. This week, the price of Brent crude soared to nearly $120 (about 178,812 won) per barrel before plummeting back below $100.

Tim Skirrow, Head of Derivatives at Energy Aspects, said, "We received a flood of inquiries from clients asking who kept selling," adding, "Since the government has intervened in other markets like currencies before, there was speculation that the seller could be the U.S. Treasury Department."

The U.S. Treasury Department declined to comment on this speculation. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Energy stated that the department has neither been involved in trading oil derivatives nor consulted other government agencies on such actions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.