Investors placed an approximately $950 million bet on oil prices falling just hours before U.S. President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, according to Reuters and LSEG data. Around 8,600 combined lots of Brent and U.S. crude futures were sold at 1945 GMT on Tuesday, ahead of the ceasefire announcement at about 2230 GMT. Crude futures later fell roughly 15%, dropping below $100 a barrel at the start of Wednesday’s official trading session.
- LSEG data showed roughly 6,200 Brent lots and 2,400 WTI lots traded in the block sale.
- Each trade represented about 1% of the day’s regular-session volume in the respective contracts.
- Reuters said a similar $500 million futures sale occurred on March 23 shortly before Trump delayed attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure.
- Average daily Brent futures volume has roughly doubled over the past four weeks, with record sessions above 1 million lots.
Relevant Companies
- Intercontinental Exchange ($ICE) - ICE operates the Brent crude futures market referenced in the reported trading activity.
- CME Group ($CME) - CME operates the WTI crude futures market referenced in the reported trading activity.
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. This article may be updated as more detail
