Suspicious Crude Oil Futures Trades Before Trump Announcements... U.S. Authorities Launch Investigation

by Ryu Hyunseok

Published 16 Apr.2026 10:53(KST)

Updated 16 Apr.2026 13:54(KST)

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has launched an investigation into allegations that undisclosed information was used for trading in the crude oil futures market just before U.S. President Donald Trump posted a major announcement related to the Iran war on social media.

U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo by AP Yonhap News

According to Bloomberg News on April 15 (local time), citing sources, the CFTC is examining crude oil futures trading that recently took place on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and ICE Futures Exchange, and has requested relevant data from these exchanges. The sources also said the CFTC is looking into at least two instances in which trading volume surged just before President Trump’s major announcements over the past two weeks.

In recent weeks, there have been several cases where oil trading volumes surged at each key phase of the Iran war. On the morning of the 23rd of last month, President Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he would delay an airstrike on Iran’s energy infrastructure. However, less than 15 minutes before that announcement, more than $760 million worth of crude oil futures contracts were traded in under two minutes.

A similar pattern emerged on the 7th of this month, when President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran on social media. Bloomberg reported that futures trading increased several hours before the news became public, and after the announcement, both oil and gas prices plunged.

In response to these recent suspicious trades, the White House sent an email to staff, warning them not to use their positions inappropriately for trading. There is also growing demand, especially among Democratic senators, for a thorough investigation into the matter.

Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, stated that “these suspect oil trades appear to be a shocking example of insiders manipulating the market,” and urged that “the CFTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must do their part and investigate all matters suspected to involve insider trading by Trump administration officials.”