sacrifice: Crude falls below $70 after death of al-Qaida lead
08.06.06 12:51
| FUTURES MOVERSCrude falls below $70 after death of al-Qaida leaderFutures contract touches lowest level in two weeksE-mail | Print | | Disable live quotes By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatchLast Update: 6:44 AM ET Jun 8, 2006
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Crude oil futures fell below $70 a barrel for the first time in two weeks Thursday after reports of the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced that Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi, who was said to be the instigator behind much of the violence in the country, including suicide bombings, kidnappings and beheadings, was killed in an air strike along with seven aides. See full story. Light crude oil for July delivery fell $1.19 to $69.63 a barrel in electronic trading Thursday morning. The contract had earlier dipped as low as $69.54 a barrel. "While this story would have been tremendously bearish about a year ago, the situation in Iraq has now become so chaotic, that it transcends the death of one man, influential as al-Zarqawi was," said Edward Meir, an analyst at Man Financial. "The price decline we are seeing today may therefore be limited in scope after the initial selling is over," he added. The fall extended Wednesday's decline in crude oil prices, which came on the back of a buildup in U.S. oil and gasoline inventories and the easing of political tension over Iran's nuclear program. Iran is studying a package of incentives that western governments are offering in an effort to persuade Tehran to halt nuclear research. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was ready for nuclear talks in a speech on Thursday. "On behalf of the Iranian nation, I'm announcing that the Iranian nation will never hold negotiations about its definite rights with anybody, but we are for talks about mutual concerns to resolve misunderstandings in the international arena," he said, according to the Associated Press.  
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| Disable live quotes By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatchLast Update: 6:44 AM ET Jun 8, 2006
