On April 9, according to Reuters, just a few hours before U.S. President Trump announced a ceasefire agreement with Iran, the crude oil market saw an extremely rare abnormal trade. At 19:45 GMT on Tuesday, during the after-hours settlement period when trading was inactive, investors suddenly sold a total of 8,600 lots of Brent and WTI crude oil futures, with total positions of approximately $950 million.

Less than three hours later, Trump officially announced a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Shocked by this news, crude oil futures opened down by about 15% on Wednesday, falling below the $100 mark. This meant that the “precise stealth” short position turned highly profitable within just a few hours. This was not an isolated incident. On March 23, fifteen minutes before Trump announced the postponement of strikes on Iran’s energy facilities, the market also saw an abnormal short position of $500 million; afterward, oil prices likewise dropped by 15%. Data shows that since tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated, daily crude oil trading volume has doubled to the million-hand level.

Congressman Ritchie Torres has officially sent a letter to the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and the CFTC (U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission), urging an investigation into its “suspicious” trades. Torres said that these trades are highly targeted in terms of speed, scale, and structure, and the relevant accounts must be checked. Currently, CME and the SEC have declined to comment, while the CFTC previously said it was “looking into” market anomalies.#Gate广场四月发帖挑战