US Democrat lawmaker pushes for probe into oil trades after Reuters report

Reuters

Tue, April 14, 2026 astatine 11:12 AM CDT 1 min read

April 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres connected Tuesday wrote to U.S. marketplace regulators pushing for an probe ‌into ample lipid trades placed conscionable hours earlier the announcement ‌of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire that Reuters archetypal reported past week.

Torres, who wrote to ​regulators past week to propulsion for a probe into lucrative caller trading enactment connected lipid markets backmost successful March, connected Tuesday urged Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins and Commodity Futures Trading Commission ‌Chairman Michael Selig to unfastened ⁠a associated probe into the trades.

* Reuters connected April 8 reported that successful the abstraction of oneminute, ⁠investors placed trades the erstwhile time that stake connected afall successful the lipid terms worthy astir $950 cardinal a mates ofhours earlier U.S. President ​Donald Trump ​announced a two-weekceasefire with Iran, ​which knocked crude futures down ‌by some15% astatine the commencement of regular trading connected April 8. * "If accurate, the timing and standard of these trades warrantimmediate scrutiny," Torres said successful his letter. * Other Democrats person besides raised concerns astir timelytrades astir large U.S. argumentation events. Democratic senatorsElizabeth Warren, the apical Democrat ‌on the Senate BankingCommittee, and Senator Sheldon ​Whitehouse, successful a missive releasedon Friday, ​called upon regulators to ​investigate unusually largecommodity and equity trades that intimately preceded ‌major WhiteHouse decisions connected Iran, Venezuela ​and tariffs. * Oil ​prices person changeable up successful hugely volatile trading byaround 40% to supra $100 a tube since the commencement of the Iranwar ​that has efficaciously ‌shuttered the Strait of Hormuz, throughwhich immoderate 20% of planetary ​daily vigor supplies usually flow.

(Reporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing ​by Michelle Price and Keith Weir)