An anonymous trader reportedly earned nearly $7.5 million after US President Joe Biden announced a debt agreement that included a provision to restart the Mountain Valley gas pipeline project. The trader had purchased 100,000 call options on Equitrans Midstream Corp., the company linked to the stalled pipeline, just days earlier. This development was reported by Bloomberg.
Observers note that the timing of the option purchases ahead of the debt deal could suggest that information about debt level expectations was in circulation before the public announcement. Bloomberg also pointed out that Mountain Valley shares had fallen sharply in 2022 when the pipeline project was halted, and surged in the wake of Biden’s debt agreement, reflecting investor anticipation of policy changes and potential project resumption.
On June 3, Biden described the debt situation as resolved, noting that a U.S. default was avoided thanks to the decision to raise the national debt ceiling. He emphasized that, while neither party achieved all of its aims, the American public received what was needed from the legislation. Bloomberg’s reporting analyzed how the debt compromise influenced energy infrastructure prospects and investor behavior for the Mountain Valley project.