Oil Price Bets Ahead of Iran War News Totaled $7 Billion

A series of suspicious trades totaling $7 billion were made on oil prices ahead of key announcements by US President Donald Trump, according to Reuters analysis of exchange data. The trades involved short positions in various derivatives, including ICE and CME crude futures.

The trades took place on major exchanges, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), and included bets that prices would fall for Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures. The same pattern of well-timed trades repeated on April 7, 17, and 21, before Trump announced ceasefire agreements with Iran.

Traders first spotted unusual trades on March 23, minutes before Trump delayed threatened attacks on Iranian power infrastructure, triggering an oil price fall. Adi Imsirovic, a veteran oil trader, described the trades as 'well informed' due to their timing in relation to major announcements.