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Crude Oil Prices Are Spiking (Again)

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Because - everything is awesome again. So the machines run the stops for the week but fail to hit $47, and no news, no catalyst, but naturally stocks decide to inch higher on this latest algorithmic idiocy.

 

 

Here's the close-up into the NYMEX close.. and drop...

 

And here's why... and how - this happened, and has happened so many times before, courtesy of your friendly, stop-hunting neighborhood algo:

...In early 2007, Defendants Optiver US, LLC ("Optiver"), Optiver Holding BV C'"Optiver Holding"), and Optiver VOF C'Optiver VOF") - the U.S. and Netherlards branches of a global proprietary trading fund headquartered in the Netherlands - developed and, in March 2007, implemented a scheme to manipulate the price of futures contracts in Light Sweet Crude Oil, New York Harbor Heating Oil, and New York Harbor Gasoline on the New York Mercantile Exchange ('"NYMEX").

 

... least 19 separate instances during the month of March 2007, Optiver, Optiver Holding, and Optiver VOF, led by head traders, Defendant Chrstopher Dowson C'Dowson") and Defendant Randal Meijer ('"Meijer"), repeatedly attempted to manipulate market prices - or in Dowson's own words, "'bully the market" - for the above-referenced energy futures contracts towards the end of the trading day.

 

... On at least five of the nineteen instances, Defendants succeeded in their manipulative scheme by causing artificial prices in certain of these energy futures contracts, resulting in serious harm to other market participants and, ultimately, to the public at large

 

...defendants developed a scheme by which Optiver, having accumulated a large net TAS (defined below) position, traded a significant volume of futures contracts in the opposite direction, before and during the Close, with the goal to improperly influence and affect the price of futures contracts in Crude Oil, Heating Oil, and New York Harbor Gasoline

 

...defendants' strategy was to execute approximately 20-30% of Optiver's futures trades just before the Close and the remainder during the Close.

The full filing busting just one of the countless more HFT "banging the close" operations is below.

 

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Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:04 | 5726470 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

Just a little short covering.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:07 | 5726478 NoWayJose
NoWayJose's picture

Or a LOT of short covering -- there were (and are) real reasons for crude to drop from $100 but this last $10 or so is all banksters.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:10 | 5726500 ZippyBananaPants
ZippyBananaPants's picture

I would call it Greek lightning, who knows what these crazy fucks are going to say over the weekend!!!

 

have a great one!

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:20 | 5726544 Leveraged Algorithm
Leveraged Algorithm's picture

Nope - jus the central banks in buying futures......

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:32 | 5726600 max2205
max2205's picture

Spy must close green 

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:42 | 5726902 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Apparently there was news out that ISIS was making a move on Mosul or something in Iraq.

 

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:05 | 5726740 Pooper Popper
Pooper Popper's picture

Fucking Criminals!

A build of 19 million barrels in the last 2 weeks......yep fucking criminal!

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:20 | 5726538 FrankieGoesToHo...
FrankieGoesToHollywood's picture

Yeah.  Phil Flynn called it in this morning e-mail. tip-of-the-cap Phil.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:12 | 5726773 NOTW777
NOTW777's picture

yellen telling dems to buy oil

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:06 | 5726475 slaughterer
slaughterer's picture

Tyler forgot the Dead Cat Bounce icon...

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:07 | 5726484 Philo Beddoe
Philo Beddoe's picture

Somebody is frontrunning mushroom clouds I reckon. 

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:08 | 5726487 Rainman
Rainman's picture

Sucker rally .... one of many to come.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:19 | 5726532 CHX
CHX's picture

Their machines plunder all the stops within a few bucks. Where there is the most to reap is where the price will go. This IS black gold. HAHAHAHA

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:12 | 5726509 Carpenter1
Carpenter1's picture

Imagine if.....supply and demand determined price.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:41 | 5726640 igriv
igriv's picture

Dude, that's so 1850 of you.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:16 | 5726795 power steering
power steering's picture

BAM! Gold's top tick!

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:14 | 5726512 luckylogger
luckylogger's picture

It just stop running.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:19 | 5726533 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Teachers unions want their cut.

 

Better get moving Goldman before the entire NY State Legislature is put in prison.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:20 | 5726539 pragmatic hobo
pragmatic hobo's picture

nothing like month-end or options/futures-expiration to drive up demand.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:47 | 5726540 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

top cnbc headline:

Why crude won't rebound any time soon
Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:19 | 5726802 power steering
power steering's picture

The Cramer/Gartman complex finally opened a short

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:26 | 5726563 davidalan1
davidalan1's picture

Fracklin rosie get on board"...

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:37 | 5726621 Jack of All Trades
Jack of All Trades's picture

+1  lol

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:25 | 5726570 Automatic Choke
Automatic Choke's picture

I predict it will fluctuate.

 

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:33 | 5726572 RockRiver
RockRiver's picture

Baker-Hughes rig count announced as much lower....

 

The oil rig count fell to a three-year low of 1,223 this week, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:27 | 5726575 john milton
john milton's picture

i sense lot of "false fags" in their strings dacing ymca near refinaries

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:33 | 5726598 Frank N. Beans
Frank N. Beans's picture

If lower oil prices were great for consumers, then higher oil prices indicate that the economy is expanding, which is also great for consumers.  Win Win! 

(this is sarcasm)

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:33 | 5726603 surf0766
surf0766's picture

and it's green

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:35 | 5726610 In.Sip.ient
In.Sip.ient's picture

Just maybe TA is right here???

 

The bottom in oil is around $45/bbl ???

 

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:43 | 5726649 Bangalore Torpedo
Bangalore Torpedo's picture

I'm a big fan of T&A

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:27 | 5726844 Jack of All Trades
Jack of All Trades's picture

Down vote - your comment is useless without pictures

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:34 | 5726616 Jack of All Trades
Jack of All Trades's picture

A complete and total farce. . .

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:37 | 5726617 falak pema
falak pema's picture

Oil is an Oligarchy game and its managed between Saud and USA...

Enuff said. What goes on behind the tinsel curtain is hard to ascertain.

The Hezbollah take over of Syrian plays must have had a chilling effect on Saud.

And an admission that they need US back-up to survive against mortal enemy, the Shia.

Potus went there expressedly to take the pulse of new king. 

So the ping pong goes on on Oil price. 

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:51 | 5726681 mt paul
mt paul's picture


oil is dead

cold fusion is here

/www.extremetech.com/extreme/191754-cold-fusion-reactor-verified-by-third...

 

32 day documented verified  test run ...

bottom line... 900 watts in ... 2700 watts out

free energy for the planet

oil is a barbaric relic 

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:20 | 5726805 B2u
B2u's picture

fuck cold fusion...I want cold beer...

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:19 | 5726807 Soul Glow
Soul Glow's picture

Let me know when I can run my fridge on it.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:36 | 5726873 detached.amusement
detached.amusement's picture

nothing said soul glow better than the 3 grease spots left behind on the couch from the McDowell family's heads

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:34 | 5726865 detached.amusement
detached.amusement's picture

We're still waiting, Andrea.  Were it what he claimed, he'd be rich, or dead.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 23:31 | 5727989 Chartsky
Chartsky's picture

Absolutely!  Never be allowed to get to the public.  Too many interests aligned in keeping this type of free energy stuff forever unknown to us commoners.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:42 | 5726645 Bangalore Torpedo
Bangalore Torpedo's picture

The paper traders better get back on the stick next week.  I'm not finished buying!!!

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:51 | 5726669 SickDollar
SickDollar's picture

Nice job banksters  to set price . what a fucking FARCE

have a great fucking weekend

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:51 | 5726675 sudzee
sudzee's picture

Wasn't there a meeting in Norway which included Saudi and Russia today. Timing seems more than relevent.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:53 | 5726679 buzzy_the_pirate_dog
buzzy_the_pirate_dog's picture

Just the normal 2pm spurt...move along

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 15:51 | 5726680 CHX
CHX's picture

Just gotta love those fair and transparent "markets". #epic shyte show

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 17:04 | 5727001 Slomotrainwreck
Slomotrainwreck's picture

Some folks got "transparented"

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:09 | 5726755 devo
devo's picture

If oil spikes we're going into recession.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:10 | 5726759 stateside
stateside's picture

Here's why:

 

Isis launch large-scale attack on Iraq's oil-rich Kirkuk

Islamic State (Isis) fighters have launched a surprise attack on Iraq's northern city of Kirkuk, a major oil production centre.

 

Isis fighters have captured land and villages to the south-west of the city, killing several peshmerga including a senior officer, according to local reports.

 

The attack is believed to have come from three sides, with jihadists taking advantage of a dense fog to attack Kurdish positions overnight. Also, a suicide attack in the city centre has reportedly killed peshmerga general Shirko Rauf, brigade commander of the Kurdish forces in the city.

Five other members of the Kurdish peshmerga forces were killed in clashes, while 46 more were wounded, according to AFP.

 

Meanwhile, a few Isis fighters, some say a dozen, have reportedly broken into Kirkuk Palace hotel and established a foothold there. They are reportedly trapped by peshmerga forces and the clashes are ongoing.

 

A curfew has been imposed from 10 am in the city after the attack.

 

The militants have also captured Sayyid Ali Bridge and part of the nearby Khabaza gas field, according to some reports.

 

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-large-scale-attack-iraqs-oil-rich-kirkuk-1...

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:15 | 5726784 stateside
stateside's picture

Yes - better to stay ignorant LOL.

 

stateside

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:18 | 5726797 B2u
B2u's picture

Huh?  but how do I know if I am ignorant?

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:37 | 5726880 noob
noob's picture

"fuck cold fusion...I want cold beer...'

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:19 | 5726800 MyKillK
MyKillK's picture

That news is 12+ hours old already

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:56 | 5726961 BullyBearish
BullyBearish's picture

Oh thank goodness, supply is so constrained now that any perceived threat should set crude back to ATHs

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:09 | 5726763 Karlus
Karlus's picture

We frontran some folks

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:15 | 5726778 Soul Glow
Soul Glow's picture

Stocks once again slumping so BTFD this is all so bullish.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:33 | 5726864 jim249
jim249's picture

It's the Fed. They have woken up to the fact that low oil prices are going to do a lot more damage than good.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:36 | 5726882 SheepDog-One
SheepDog-One's picture

The Duke brothers have set the price....nothing more to see here....move along.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 16:42 | 5726899 Wahooo
Wahooo's picture

Tyler you are becoming quite the contrary indicator.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 17:47 | 5727206 MountainMan
MountainMan's picture

If you just paid any attention to price action the last 2 day, crude was telling you downside volatility had run its course for now...the squeeze was waiting to happen. Didn't need any news to drive it, the structure was the catalyst.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 18:56 | 5727371 wrs1
wrs1's picture

Exactly like when the market hit 666 in March 2009 and the people here were expecting 400 or lower still.  They were absolutely destroyed by the squeeze, same kind of disbelief when silver started collapsing from $50 and gold from $1900.  This place has a bunch of linear thinkers that believe they know more than the next guy when the truth is, the information they get is the same as everyone else gets, mostly garbage.

 

The key is the elevated gold to oil ratio.  If gold won't fall, oil has to rise, a lot.  So far, gold has done well by bouncing off it's 200dma and that is part of the reason oil had to rise today.  There is no way the gold oil ratio keeps climbing from here.  It was exactly one gram per barrel yesterday and now it's back to 27 using front month contracts as a measure.  I see oil back to 60 fairly soon if gold can crack $1300.  If not, this may be dead cat action and the same for gold.  Monday should be interesting.

For me, I am glad to see them both up significantly on the day since I own both.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 18:08 | 5727261 Mayer Amschel R...
Mayer Amschel Rothschild's picture

Big picture:

 

Per eia.gov website, "U.S. commercial crude oil inventories...are at 406.7 million barrels, the highest level for this time of year in at least the last 80 years."

 

80 years.

 

There's no glut, right Peak Oil / Dino Graveyard fucksticks?

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 22:56 | 5727917 nector_collecter
nector_collecter's picture

In 2013, the United States consumed a total of 6.89 billion barrels of petroleum products, an average of 18.89 million barrels per day.1 This total includes about 0.32 billion barrels o406.7 M barrels biofuels.

 

406.7 Mbarrels= 21.5 day supply.......but oversupply is definitely growing

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 18:20 | 5727294 directaction
directaction's picture

Peak oil isn't real. It's fake, a commie plot.

I know this is true because there's an oil glut today. 

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 18:42 | 5727334 ExploitedCitizen
ExploitedCitizen's picture

I know the Zionists who run the USA are real pissed at Putin, so oil prices will probably keep declining until the $20's.

Going long right now, I worry monday the bottom will fall out of it.  So many people are bottom fishing oil, which might be a good idea when the downtrend breaks, but it is still within a strong downtrend, even if it pops another $5 still intact.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 23:33 | 5727996 Chartsky
Chartsky's picture

Why worry about picking bottoms (or tops) when you have so much volatility every day to trade?

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