NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)—Oil rallied late Thursday, settling more than $5 a barrel higher, as traders reacted to talk of further turbulence in Iran and Nigeria, raising new supply concerns.

Light, sweet crude settled $5.60 higher to $141.65 a barrel. Prices had soared as high as $142.04 just before the settlement.

Traders said rumors that Iran test fired more missiles and of the apparent end of a cease-fire in Nigeria pushed prices up at the end of the trading day.

When global supply is as tight as it is right now, traders do not wait to confirm rumors, said Neal Dingmann, senior energy analyst at Dahlman Rose & Co.

“People are shooting first and asking questions later,” he said, especially when the rumors are concerned such oil-rich countries as Iran and Nigeria.

Iran media reported that Tehran had test-fired a series of missiles in the Persian Gulf for the second day on Thursday, putting investors on edge.

However, American radar and satellite data do not back the reports. A senior military source said that Iran launched only one missile on Thursday, not a full round of tests, according to the latest U.S. intelligence assessments.

Mark Waggoner, president of Excel Futures, said that tensions throughout the Middle East are pushing up the price of oil, but he said that the recent events in Iran are of particular concern today.