Oil Price Plunge Sparks Suspicions of "Insider Trading" in Middle East Situation

Today, Xinhua News Agency reported that according to the UK Financial Times on the 24th, approximately 15 minutes before US President Trump posted about US-Iran dialogue on social media on the 23rd, the international crude oil market experienced an unusual large transaction worth approximately $580 million, triggering market speculation about "insider trading."

According to the report, between 6:49 and 6:50 AM New York time on the 23rd, approximately 6,200 contracts of Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were exchanged. Based on Bloomberg data calculations, these contracts had a notional value of $580 million. As crude oil futures trading volume surged dramatically, the S&P 500 Index jumped instantaneously, with trading volume also expanding significantly in tandem.

The report states that Trump subsequently posted at 7:04 AM, saying: "Over the past two days, the United States and Iran have had very good and productive discussions regarding a comprehensive and thorough solution to our hostile actions in the Middle East region." This announcement triggered a major selloff in global energy markets. As investors downgraded their "bets" on prolonged conflict, S&P 500 futures and European stock markets rose in sync.

The report believes that such "precisely timed" trades are "strikingly similar" to previous situations surrounding US strikes on Iran and Venezuela. Multiple hedge funds stated that this is one of many instances in recent months of large advance transactions appearing before US official announcements of major news.

The report cited remarks from a large hedge fund trader, saying that energy consulting firms have recently noticed multiple large transactions with abnormal timing. Another investment manager stated that a series of precisely timed large transactions have triggered "strong dissatisfaction" among investors.

According to reports, later on the 23rd, Iranian Islamic Parliament Speaker Kalibaff posted on social media, explicitly denying any negotiations between the US and Iran. This statement immediately triggered a retreat in global stock markets, with energy markets experiencing renewed buying pressure.

Kalibaff said, the purpose of spreading "false news is to manipulate financial and oil markets, thereby helping the United States and Israel escape the quagmire they are trapped in."

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