Washington, March 25 -- Oil traders placed more than $580m in rapid-fire bets minutes before President Donald Trump announced "productive" talks with Iran, prompting scrutiny over whether markets moved on advance information.
According to the Financial Times, a burst of activity occurred between 06:49 and 06:50 ET in New York, when about 6,200 futures contracts over Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude were traded within a single minute.
As per Bloomberg data, volumes in both benchmarks spiked simultaneously, roughly 27 seconds before 06:50, with S&P 500 futures also moving higher shortly afterwards.
The trades came roughly 15 minutes before Trump posted on Truth Social at 07:04 ET, saying Washington had held "very good and prod...