On Tuesday afternoon, Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted six words on X that moved global oil markets more than any airstrike this week: The Navy, he wrote, had “successfully escorted an oil tanker” through the Strait of Hormuz.
Crude cratered at the fastest pace in years. West Texas Intermediate, a reliable benchmark, plunged as much as 19% as traders who had spent days pricing in a prolonged closure of the world’s most critical energy chokepoint suddenly scrambled to unwind their positions. An exchange-traded fund tied to oil futures shed $84 million in market cap in just ten minutes. Then, the post disappeared, and the White House confirmed no such escort had taken place. A Department of Energy spokesperson called it an “incorrectly captioned” video clip. But the damage was already done.
