October 14th 2026, 10:07 AM
Insider Trading Suspicions Surround Oil Market Amid Trump Administration
Key Summary
A senior adviser to the CFTC chairman intervened in an oil insider trading investigation, sparking accusations of political access and financial derivatives being used to suppress oil prices. However, experts attribute the calm oil price to fundamental factors such as pipeline rerouting, reduced demand, and inventory releases.
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Introduction
After Bloomberg broke the news of a senior adviser to the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission intervening in an oil insider trading investigation, social media immediately accused well-connected insiders of using political access and financial derivatives to suppress the price of oil.Background
Year-to-date, the price of the US Oil Fund ETF is up 151% since before the war in Iran, yet it should be much higher according to many skeptics. Why isn't oil at $200?Investigation
The original news was that Mel Gunewardena, a senior adviser to CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, told a CFTC supervisor to retract an oil futures insider trading referral. Donald Trump appointed Selig.Expert Analysis
Lakshmi Sreekumar, a former Capital One institutional analyst, credits oil pipelines for 37% of re-routing oil around the Strait of Hormuz, lower absolute oil demand — especially in China — for 33% of rebalancing Hormuz oil flows, release of inventories such as strategic petroleum reserves for 11%, and finally tankers slipping through Hormuz under special guard or with transponders switched off for 19%.#Oil#US#CFTC#SEC