Elizabeth Warren Calls for Investigation Into Unusual Oil Market Activity Before Key Trump-Iran Decisions

On Tuesday last week, US Senator Elizabeth Warren asked Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have the agency's enforcement staff examine abrupt, high-dollar moves in oil futures that appeared just ahead of two major Donald Trump administration statements tied to the Iran conflict. The request lands as Warren warns that policy whiplash is already eroding trust abroad and at home, a theme she raised while discussing Americas partnerships around the world. Warren along with fellow Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse wrote a letter to to the chairman of the CFTC that the March 23 activity erupted in the minutes before Trump used Truth Social to say the U.S. was pursuing talks with Iran aimed at easing the fighting. The letter said the post coincided with a jump in equity indexes and a drop in crude, and it argued there was no public catalyst beforehand that would have signaled that move. Unusual Trading Patterns Demand Investigation Lawmakers pointed to reporting that described a roughly $500 million wager on the New York Mercantile Exchange placed shortly before Trump said he would hold off on striking Iranian energy infrastructure, a shift that pushed crude lower. The letter said market and legal observers called the timing suspicious and said it was enough to justify regulators taking a closer look. Warren also flagged a second episode on April 7, when oil slid about 15% after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran. In the hours leading up to that announcement, the letter said traders put on an estimated $950 million position that benefited ...Full story available on Benzinga.com