PANews reported on April 16 that, according to sources familiar with the matter, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating a series of crude oil futures trades that occurred with "unusually precise timing" before Trump's shift in policy regarding war with Iran. The CFTC is leading the investigation into crude oil futures trading on the CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange platforms and has requested both exchanges to submit relevant data, including the so-called "Tag 50" identifier used to identify trading entities. On March 23, billions of dollars worth of crude oil and stock index futures were traded 15 minutes before Trump announced he would postpone his previously threatened strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure. Trump's subsequent statement caused crude oil prices to plummet and stock prices to surge. A similar situation occurred on April 7 before Trump announced a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran. Hours before the announcement, futures trading activity increased, and the subsequent news triggered a drop in oil and natural gas prices.