US President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington, DC, US, on Sunday, April 12, 2026. Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV for his criticism of the US-Israeli war on Iran, and called the Catholic Church leader “weak on crime.” Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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US derivatives regulators are investigating a handful of unusual oil futures trades that took place minutes before President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that he would halt attacks on Iran. According to Bloomberg News.
The investigation is being led by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is investigating activity at trading venues run by CME Group and the Intercontinental Exchange, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Both the exchanges have been asked to hand over relevant records.
Regulators are focusing on at least two instances over a period of about two weeks when trading volumes jumped sharply just before major announcements. The information sought includes so-called Tag 50 identifiers, which can be used to determine who was behind the trades, the people said.
The CFTC and ICE declined to comment.
CME did not comment specifically on the unusual trades linked to Trump’s announcement, but the exchange said any investigation should also include participants in forecast markets such as new platforms.
“Nothing is more important than the integrity of the markets,” a CME spokesperson told CNBC. “We rigorously survey our markets and work closely with the CFTC to monitor trading activity. Importantly, any review of market behavior must include all venues, including prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalashi that list related products with little or no visibility.”
CNBC previously reported suspicious activity on March 23 when S&P 500 E-Mini futures and West Texas Intermediate May crude futures saw sudden and isolated surges in volume in otherwise flat premarket trading.
About 15 minutes later, Trump said on Truth Social that the US and Iran have talked and that he is stopping planned attacks on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure. The announcement triggered an immediate reaction in the markets, with S&P 500 futures jumping more than 2.5% before the open, and WTI crude oil futures falling nearly 6%.
The sudden, simultaneous spikes in volumes in stock indexes and crude futures raised concerns among traders, especially as they came without any obvious news or trigger at the time.
Last week, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., CFTC was called To initiate investigations into such unusual trades, raising questions about whether there has been repeated misuse of material non-public government information.
– Click here to read Original Bloomberg News Story.
