On 17 April, unknown traders placed roughly $760 million in bets on falling oil prices minutes before Iran announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, raising fresh concerns over high-volume insider trading related to wartime events.
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Between 12:24 and 12:25 GMT, traders sold 7,990 lots of Brent crude futures – contracts that reflect predictions on future oil prices – according to LSEG data, with the transactions valued atabout $760 million.
Roughly 20 minutes later, Iran’sForeign Minister Abbas Araghchiannounced via social media that “the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of the ceasefire.”
Crude prices dropped by as much as 11 percent within minutes, with US crude falling to around $83 per barrel and Brent to about $89 per barrel, reflecting the immediate impact of the announcement on global energy markets.
Friday’s well-timed bets are not unique; similar large trades have been seen before major US policy and war announcements, such as ceasefire agreements and military escalations.
Reuterspreviously reported that around$950 millionin similar bets were placed on 7 April, just hours before a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US was announced.
A similar pattern was reported earlier in March, when $580 million in oil futures weretradedminutes before USPresident Donald Trumpposted about “productive conversations” with Tehran, which triggered a sharp sell-off in crude prices.
Trading volumes surged unusually ahead of the announcement, with one market strategist noting it was “hard to prove causality … but you have to wonder who would have been relatively aggressive” in placing such bets before the news broke.
Source: Global Research
