WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and fellow Senate Agriculture Members Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), sent a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) calling for the Commission to conduct a full investigation and provide a public update and report to Congress regarding a series of suspicious trades in the oil futures market.
The well-timed bets have stood out in a market in which the price of oil has risen and dropped dramatically during President Trump’s War in Iran.
“Recent U.S. military action against Iran has resulted in significant volatility in global markets, with prices surging from $66 to nearly $120 per barrel since the onset of the military action against Iran, with oil futures settling between $100 and $110 per barrel,” said the Senators. “Suspicious trades reportedly occurring minutes before major White House announcements regarding the military conflict in Iran have raised concerns about trading on material nonpublic information and market manipulation.”
“The integrity of America’s commodity futures markets must remain above reproach. Should market participants become convinced a few insiders are profiting on inside information at their expense, we could see reduced market liquidity, heightened volatility, and disruptions to the efficient pricing and flow of physical commodities. It is critical that this investigation be carried out swiftly and publicly to reassure existing market participants that markets are stable and no participant has an unfair advantage,” the Senators conclude.
In March, roughly 15 minutes before President Trump posted on Truth Social that a cease fire had been agreed to, a single trader made more than $580 million in oil futures trades. Public reporting has revealed at least three instances in which traders have timed the oil markets curiously well since the start of President Trump’s War in Iran. The trades on oil futures have raised concerns that material nonpublic information is being used to facilitate trades and game the system.
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