English media: Sharp drop in oil prices triggers questioning of "insider trading" in Middle East situation

According to the Financial Times on the 24th, just 15 minutes before President Trump of the United States posted a post on social media about US-Iran dialogue on the 23rd, an unusually large transaction of about $580 million appeared in the international crude oil market, sparking speculation of "insider trading". The report stated that between 6:49 and 6:50 on the 23rd New York time, about 6200 lots of Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures contracts were traded. According to Bloomberg data, the nominal value of these contracts reached $580 million. As crude oil futures trading volume suddenly surged, the S&P 500 stock index jumped instantly, and trading volume also significantly increased. The report mentioned that Trump later posted a post at 7:04 saying, "Over the past two days, the US and Iran have had very good and effective discussions about a comprehensive and thorough solution to our hostile actions in the Middle East." This news triggered a sharp sell-off in the global energy market. As investors scaled back their bets on prolonged conflict, S&P 500 index futures and European stock markets rose in sync. The report believes that such "well-timed" trades are similar to previous cases such as the US attack on Iran and Venezuela. Several hedge funds stated that this is one of many cases in recent months where large advance trades have occurred before the US officially announced major news. The report quoted a large hedge fund trader as saying that energy consulting agencies have recently noticed several instances of unusually large transactions at specific time points.