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Wed, 25 Mar 2026

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 Oil traders bet millions minutes before Trump's Iran talks post

Market data shows the amount of oil trade rose before the US President said he would postpone attacks on Iran's power plants.

* Traders placed $320m worth of bets on oil contracts just minutes before Trump announced that US would postpone strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure.
* The volume of trade spiked around 15 minutes before Trump's social media post, with traders buying contracts for WTI and Brent crude oil.
* Oil prices fell sharply after the announcement, dropping 14% in a matter of minutes.
* Some market analysts say the unusual activity raises questions about whether the bets were made with prior knowledge of the decision.
* The White House said it does not tolerate "any administration official illegally profiteering off of insider knowledge".
* Global financial markets have been affected by the Middle East conflict, with share prices sliding and oil prices soaring.
* On Monday morning, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Washington had held "VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS" with Tehran over a "COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION" to hostilities.
* The price of oil dipped to as low as $84 per barrel for the benchmark US price after Trump's announcement.