Traders placed $580mn in oil bets ahead of Donald Trump’s social media post on Iran talks
u/financialtimes ·
Reddit — r/wallstreetbets
· March 23, 2026 at 22:03
· ⬆ 337 pts
· 💬 66 comments
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AI Summary
Summary
The post highlights a highly suspicious trading event where $580 million in Brent and WTI oil futures were traded just 15 minutes before a market-moving social media post by Donald Trump regarding Iran.
The subsequent post about "productive conversations" with Tehran caused crude oil prices to tumble, yielding massive profits for whoever placed the perfectly timed bets.
Quality assessment: This is high-quality, data-backed financial journalism provided directly by the Financial Times, though it serves as retrospective news rather than forward-looking due diligence.
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▶ Full Post Text
Traders made bets worth half a billion dollars in the oil market about 15 minutes before Donald Trump’s post touting 'productive' talks with Iran sent the price of crude tumbling and ignited volatility in other assets.
Roughly 6,200 Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures contracts changed hands between 6.49am and 6.50am New York time on Monday, just a quarter of an hour ahead of the US president’s post on Truth Social that there had in recent days been 'productive conversations' with Tehran to end the war in Iran. The notional value of those trades was $580mn, according to FT calculations based on Bloomberg data.
**Read the full story** [**here**](https://www.ft.com/content/1171d623-3709-4f6e-8ded-a5df4ec57696?accessToken=zwAAAZ23L3Gdkc8RcdYjNwlPbtON7aXfTsV2lgE.MEUCIDqhvWRNedGRYYWc4iezS3PvALqUNOIFQc89etDDtG2dAiEA4AWvaXa1vmAlo_jrWURWdvt1dzJeyW0QsOOsXrcYhwA&segmentId=c50c86e4-586b-23ea-1ac1-7601c9c2476f) **for free.**
Rachel - FT social team