Traders Bet $430M on Oil Plunge Before Iran Ceasefire

0:00On April 22, traders just dropped $430 million in bets on crude oil prices tanking, hitting the market 15 minutes before. President Trump announced he'd extend the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely on Tuesday. This went down between $354 and $356 PM Eastern time, right in post-settlement hours when trading volumes are super thin. Brent crude barely budged at first, slipping from $100.91 to $100.66 a barrel, then plunged to $96.83 right after the news hit. It's the third such big, perfectly timed bet this month alone, and the fourth overall linked to Iran war updates. Earlier ones stacked up huge $500 million in March before a delay on attacks, $950 million on April 7, ahead of the initial. Two-week truce, and $760 million on April 17, before word the straight of Hormuz state open.

1:00All these April wagers total over $2.1 billion, raising eyebrows about who's getting the jump on major policy shifts. The commodity futures trading commission is digging into at least the March and early April trades now, as oil hovers around $99.20 a barrel, and the pattern keeps everyone watching close. From across the country, powered by AI, this is US News Today.