After threatening to practice drills meant to close the crucial Strait of Hormuz, rumors had Iran shutting the strait down and oil prices went crazy.

ZeroHedge reported real-time analyst Ransquawk confirmed the straight was closed and it was enough to send traders scrambling.

Seeking Alpha reported, "Crude oil spikes $2 in minutes to $100.45/barrel on a report Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz "until further notice," for a military exercise."

By 10:40 a.m. EDT oil had jumped from $98.590 before the rumor, to $101.25 at its peak, and has settled to $100.30 — still sitting almost $2 higher than before the supposition began.



We reported on this threat yesterday, and most experts believed the boast wasn't a credible possibility.

Bloomberg reports the Strait is wide open and it's not yet known how the rumor originated.



This story is developing.