Oil prices slide on news of death of al-Zarqawi

09-Jun-06

Oil prices fell for the third consecutive day on Thursday following the death of al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida's leader in Iraq, easing of tensions between Iran and the West, and also on concerns of a slowdown in global economic growth. This decline follows a 2% dip recorded on Wednesday after U.S. data showed rising crude and gasoline supplies. Light sweet crude for July delivery fell to US$70.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The last time Nymex oil futures settled below $70 was on May 24. In London, July Brent crude futures on the ICE Futures exchange dipped to US$68.42 a barrel.