Experts Suspect Insider Trading Linked to Trump Statements: CBS News

Financial market experts are raising concerns about possible insider trading following a spike in oil futures trading minutes before President Trump announced talks with Iran on social media, Aimee Picchi reported for CBS News.

About 6,200 oil futures contracts, valued at roughly $580 million, were traded between 6:49 a.m. and 6:50 a.m.—far above the typical volume of around 700 contracts for that time period.

Trump’s post, made shortly after 7 a.m. EST, caused oil prices to fall and the Dow Jones Industrial Average to surge by more than 1,000 points. The announcement marked a sharp shift from earlier threats to strike Iran’s power plants.

Data from Bloomberg and the Financial Times showed that about 6,200 oil futures contracts, valued at roughly $580 million, were traded between 6:49 a.m. and 6:50 a.m.—far above the typical volume of around 700 contracts for that time period.

“The massive spike in trading volume right before that post is certainly enough to raise eyebrows,” said Stephen Piepgrass, a futures trading specialist.