Topline
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is looking into oil futures trades made by at least three previously unreported firms on March 23, just before Trump announced a ceasefire extension with Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Key Facts
Regulators are reportedly interested in trades made by Qube Research & Technology, Totsa (the trading wing of French oil company TotalEnergies) and Forza Fund Ltd—while the investigation was reported earlier this month, the companies were previously unreported.
Trades on March 23 netted Qube $5 million, Totsa $200,000, and Forza Fund about $10 million, according to documents reviewed by the Journal—just a small portion of the reported $800 million that circulated that day.
The firms have not been accused of wrongdoing and did not confirm they were under investigation to the Journal, and Forbes has reached out to Qube and Totsa for further comment on the reported regulatory scrutiny.
What Have The Firms Said?
Qube’s chief operating officer told the Journal that the firm’s trading decisions are “model-driven,” not based on comments or geopolitical updates. Qube did not comment on regulatory scrutiny. Totsa told the newspaper it was unaware of any CFTC investigation, but complies with all market regulations. A representative for Forza could not be reached by Forbes, but a Chinese firm associated with the fund told the Journal it is also unaware of a CFTC investigation. At least some of the trades on March 23 being examined were driven by an article published by Semafor about 33 minutes before Trump’s post, according to the Journal.
Key Background
The CFTC began looking into suspicious oil market trades in April, Reuters first reported citing a source familiar with the probe. The trades were primarily conducted on March 23 and April 7, according to the initial report. The Justice Department is conducting its own probe of suspicious trades linked to announcements made by Trump and Iranian leaders, including Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, earlier this month, ABC News first reported. Details about the investigations are sparse at the moment, but the trades being examined on March 23, April 7, April 17 and April 21 netted traders about $2.6 billion.
