The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has launched an inquiry into oil futures trading that took place shortly before recent policy announcements by President Donald Trump related to the war in Iran, regulators said through people familiar with the matter.
According to those people, the probe centers on activity in oil futures contracts executed on markets operated by CME Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. The CFTC has asked both exchanges to furnish data to support its review.
Investigators are concentrating on at least two separate episodes, spanning roughly a two-week period, when trading volumes rose in the moments preceding major presidential announcements. The timing of those volume increases has prompted the regulator to seek further information to determine whether the activity was lawful and consistent with market rules.
As part of its information-gathering, the CFTC requested Tag 50 identifications from the exchanges. Tag 50 is the market protocol that ties trades to the reporting entities that executed them, enabling regulators to identify which firms or accounts placed orders associated with the heightened volumes.
The scope of the review, as described by the people familiar with the matter, is limited to the trade activity on the CME and ICE platforms and the specific instances where volume surged shortly before the announcements. The investigation is aimed at clarifying the sequence of trades and the identities behind them; further details about any conclusions or additional instances under scrutiny were not provided.
Context and next steps
Regulatory requests for exchange data and Tag 50 records are standard tools the CFTC uses to trace trading activity when concerns are raised about the timing or pattern of transactions. The exchanges involved have been asked to supply the requested records to assist the ongoing review.
At this stage, the probe focuses on documenting the trades and identifying the executing parties. There has been no public announcement about enforcement actions or findings tied to the inquiry.