Senior US Official Denies Iranian Missile Strike on Navy Ship, Oil Prices Stabilize

A senior US official and the Pentagon have denied reports of an Iranian missile striking a US Navy vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, stabilizing oil markets after a brief spike. Unverified social media rumors triggered a roughly 3% rise in Brent crude before prices retreated following the authoritative rebuttals reported by Axios. The episode highlights oil market sensitivity to Middle East tensions, with about 20% of global supply transiting the strait, and temporarily boosted safe-haven demand for gold and Bitcoin.