Oil-price bets ahead of Iran war news totalled $7bn, reporting shows

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A series of well-timed market bets on falling oil prices totalling as much as $7 billion during March and April spread across multiple exchanges and types of fuel and derivatives just before major Iranian policy announcements by US President Donald Trump, according to traders, market experts and Reuters’ analysis of exchange data.

The size exceeds previously reported bets amounting to $2.6bn, which have already prompted the US administration to warn staff against using nonpublic information for financial benefit.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters in April, although the CFTC has yet to officially confirm a probe is underway.

Reuters cannot establish who placed the bets and whether they originated in the US or elsewhere. They included short positions, or bets that prices would fall, for derivatives including ICE, CME crude, diesel and gasoline futures.

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