Shortly after, too the White House contradicted the initial version. “The United States has not yet escorted any tankers or ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.
In a publication made this Tuesday morning, Wright stated that the Navy had escorted a tanker through that critical maritime bottleneck – through which about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied gas circulates – to “guarantee the flow of oil to global markets” during US military operations against Iran.
The message caused a rapid reaction in the energy markets and accelerated the fall that crude oil prices had already been registering. Around 17:15 GMT, a barrel of North Sea Brent plummeted by 15.03%, to $84.09, while West Texas Intermediate fell by 15.46%, to $80.12.
Prices had already begun to decline at the beginning of the day, after having skyrocketed in recent days to reach $119 per barrel.
However, the message from the Secretary of Energy was later removed from his account and no further details or clarification were immediately offered..
