Suspicious oil trades before Hormuz opening

A trader placed a $760 million bet that oil prices would drop just minutes before news broke that the Strait of Hormuz was reopening.

Sources

4 verified

Location

—

Updated

Friday, 17 April 2026 at 22:57 UTC

Suspicious oil trades before Hormuz opening — Image · 1 / 1

Synthesis · 4 sources

A massive $760 million bet predicting a fall in oil prices was placed just minutes before President Trump announced the Strait of Hormuz was open for commercial shipping. The timing of the short position, which was placed via options on the USO ETF, is highly suspicious given its proximity to the market-moving geopolitical news. When the announcement was made, oil prices fell sharply by 10–12%, meaning the position likely generated a large profit. The trade has raised immediate questions about potential insider information regarding the US-Iran negotiations and the decision to reopen the critical waterway.

Updates · 3

18 AprGeopolitics Watch

The message adds that the 10% downward move was fueled further by market makers hedging against the outsized trade, and specifies West Texas Crude was trading as low as $81 a barrel.

18 Apr𝗠𝗘𝗚𝗛𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦 🚨

The message confirms the trades were 7,990 lots of Brent crude futures and emphasizes they were much larger than any other orders at the time.

18 Apr@clashreport

The incoming message provides a more precise description of the trade's timing and confirms the resulting price drop of 10–12%.

e/eineurope · topic · T-00476cycle Friday, 17 April 2026 at 22:57 UTC · first reported 17 Apr