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The trades, involving roughly 6,200 contracts, came suggesting that crude oil prices would fall, around 15 minutes before Trump’s public remarks on Iran.
$580 million bets were placed in the market before Trump’s “productive talks” remark with Iran. (Representative Image)
A wave of unusually timed trades are raising concerns about possible insider activity in global markets after large positions were taken just minutes before US President Donald Trump spoke about “productive’ talks with Iran.
Several traders in the market appeared to anticipate that oil prices would fall and stock markets would rise even before any public statement came from Trump. This later turned out to be true when the US President announced progress in talks with Iran and a pause in military action, making oil prices drop while equities climbed—exactly in line with those earlier trades.
The scrutiny over the claims intensified after Iranian officials denied that any such talks took place, raising questions over both the trigger and the timing of the market bets.
Meanwhile, what raised caution was over market fairness and possible access to privileged non-public information.
Bets worth about $580 million were placed in Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude futures between 6:49 am and 6:50 am New York time, according to a report published in Financial Times.
The trades, involving roughly 6,200 contracts, came suggesting that crude oil prices would fall, around 15 minutes before Trump’s public statement. Notably, the prices did drop sharply soon after. At the same time, trading volumes surged and S&P 500 futures began rising.
Witnessing the situation, market participants and analysts said that such large trades, placed within a narrow time window are highly unusual.
Market Reaction After Trump Announcement
Claiming that “productive talks” are being held between the United States and Iran amid the escalating situation, Trump took to Truth Social, claiming progress with Tehran, at 4.35 pm.
“I am pleased to report that the United States of America and the country of Iran have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
He also said that the US military strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure would be postponed for five days, signalling a possible de-escalation.
The announcement came in a big U-turn from his Saturday statement, where he gave a 48-hours of ultimatum to Iran.
Minutes later, at 4.53 pm, Trump posted a corrected version of the same message, fixing errors but retaining the core claim about “productive conversations” and the pause on military action.
To this, the market reacted sharply, and oil prices fell as traders priced in lower geopolitical risk, while US stock futures and European equities moved higher.
Iran Rejected Talks Claim
Soon after Trump’s claims, Iranian authorities rejected the announcement, saying there had been no direct communication with the United States, neither directly nor through intermediaries.
If no talks were underway, it raises questions about what exactly markets were reacting to and what traders may have known ahead of time. The timing, just minutes before a market-moving statement, appears unusually precise and, therefore, is under scrutiny.
United States of America (USA)
March 24, 2026, 10:56 IST
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