Speculation on oil soared minutes before Trump's announcement of talks with Iran.

BarcelonaEnergy markets saw trading worth $580 million – just over €500 million – moments before US President Donald Trump announced talks with Iran on Monday to resolve the conflict, triggering a drop in oil and gas prices. According to data calculated by Financial TimesBetween 6:49 and 6:50 a.m. (local time) on Monday, just 15 minutes before Trump announced the "productive" negotiations with Iran on Truth Social, approximately 6,200 futures contracts for both Brent crude oil—the European benchmark—and West Texas Intermediate crude—the U.S. benchmark—were traded. Similarly, an unusual increase in trading in S&P 500 futures was observed after the first oil transactions. This trend contrasted with the direction of the session prior to the market opening. At the moment, it is unknown whether any company is behind these extraordinary movements, and although it is difficult to prove what motivated these operations, there is speculation about possible insider trading that could benefit certain financial players. Financial TimesWhite House spokesman Kush Desai denied that the US administration allows "any administration official to illegally profit by exploiting insider information, and any insinuation that officials engage in such activities without evidence is baseless and irresponsible." "The sole focus of President Trump and his administration officials is to do what is best for the American people," the spokesman stated. On Monday, Donald Trump announced "constructive" talks with Iran and ordered a postponement of any military strikes against the Persian country's power plants. The postponement contradicted the 48-hour ultimatum announced the previous day, with which the US president sought to pressure Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz. These apparent signs of a cooling of the conflict in the Middle East were well received by the markets, and most stock market indices experienced gains during the day. Energy prices plummeted: the price of Brent crude fell by as much as 17%, dropping below the $100 mark.