Flurry of Suspicious Oil Trades Worth $800 Million Triggers Regulatory Probe

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Source: The Wall Street Journal.

Exclusive * Regulation
Flurry of Suspicious Oil Trades Worth $800 Million Triggers Regulatory Probe

Officials are parsing records of trades made before a Trump social-media post

By David Uberti, Joe Palazzolo and Dylan Tokar
May 19, 2026 9:00 pm ET


The CFTC is looking into several instances of suspicious trading related to Iran war announcements. Stephen Voss for WSJ

A trader couldn’t hope for better timing.

Moments before President Trump postponed strikes on Tehran’s energy infrastructure in a morning social-media post on March 23, a spasm of trades hit the market during off-hours. More than $800 million worth of U.S. and international oil futures changed hands in a matter of minutes, according to LSEG data.

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Exclusive: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is parsing records of oil trades made before a March social-media post by President Trump.

Flurry of Suspicious Oil Trades Worth $800 Million Triggers Regulatory Probe
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is parsing records of trades made before a social-media post by President Trump.
on.wsj.com
9:19 PM · May 19, 2026
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Exclusive: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is parsing records of oil trades made before a March social-media post by President Trump.

— The Wall Street Journal (@wsj.com) 2026-05-20T01:19:20.861318Z