Alexander
What's it going to be then, eh?
- Messages
- 62,482
- Reaction score
- 67,294
Oil prices drop below $70 per barrel on news of al-Zarqawi's death
By Tanalee Smith
ASSOCIATED PRESS
2:09 a.m. June 8, 2006
SINGAPORE – Oil prices dropped below $70 per barrel for the first time in two weeks Thursday following the announcement in Baghdad of the death of terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. “The hope is that with the removal of the terror leader in Iraq, the Iraqi situation will stabilize faster and future oil supply could increase,” said Victor Shum, energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
The Jordanian-born militant led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and other violence. Insurgents have also sabotaged pipelines numerous times.
Light sweet crude for July delivery fell $1.15 cents to $69.67 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq had been killed in an air raid north of Baghdad on Wednesday night.
July Brent crude futures on London's ICE Futures exchange fell 28 cents to $68.91 a barrel.
Thursday's slide in oil prices continued a two-day trend as the market adjusted to U.S. government data showing higher crude oil and gas inventories and positive developments in Iran.
The rise in U.S. inventories and the easing tensions over Iran's nuclear program were driving prices down, Shum said.
“If there are indications of a rapid diplomatic solution, prices could fall quite quickly to the mid-60s (per barrel),” he said. “But the general market feeling is that it will still take weeks to resolve the issue.”
Iran has said it would study a package of incentives by world powers hoping to curb its nuclear program.
Despite the geopolitical concerns, the oil market remains well-supplied.
In its weekly petroleum report on Wednesday, the Energy Department said U.S. crude-oil stocks grew last week by 1.1 million barrels to 346.6 million barrels, or 4 percent above year ago levels. Gasoline inventories grew by 1 million barrels to 210.3 million barrels, or 2.5 percent below year ago levels.
The commercial supply of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, increased by 1.8 million barrels to 120.7 million barrels, or 8.5 percent more than a year ago.
On a week-to-week basis, the agency's report showed a slight decline in refinery output and gasoline demand. Over the past four weeks gasoline demand is 0.7 percent higher than it was during the same period a year ago.
Gasoline futures dropped 2.26 cents Thursday to $2.1014 a gallon, while heating oil prices were down 1.09 cents to $1.9845 a gallon. Natural gas prices rose 4 cents to $6.014 per 1,000 cubic feet.
By Tanalee Smith
ASSOCIATED PRESS
2:09 a.m. June 8, 2006
SINGAPORE – Oil prices dropped below $70 per barrel for the first time in two weeks Thursday following the announcement in Baghdad of the death of terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. “The hope is that with the removal of the terror leader in Iraq, the Iraqi situation will stabilize faster and future oil supply could increase,” said Victor Shum, energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
The Jordanian-born militant led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and other violence. Insurgents have also sabotaged pipelines numerous times.
Light sweet crude for July delivery fell $1.15 cents to $69.67 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq had been killed in an air raid north of Baghdad on Wednesday night.
July Brent crude futures on London's ICE Futures exchange fell 28 cents to $68.91 a barrel.
Thursday's slide in oil prices continued a two-day trend as the market adjusted to U.S. government data showing higher crude oil and gas inventories and positive developments in Iran.
The rise in U.S. inventories and the easing tensions over Iran's nuclear program were driving prices down, Shum said.
“If there are indications of a rapid diplomatic solution, prices could fall quite quickly to the mid-60s (per barrel),” he said. “But the general market feeling is that it will still take weeks to resolve the issue.”
Iran has said it would study a package of incentives by world powers hoping to curb its nuclear program.
Despite the geopolitical concerns, the oil market remains well-supplied.
In its weekly petroleum report on Wednesday, the Energy Department said U.S. crude-oil stocks grew last week by 1.1 million barrels to 346.6 million barrels, or 4 percent above year ago levels. Gasoline inventories grew by 1 million barrels to 210.3 million barrels, or 2.5 percent below year ago levels.
The commercial supply of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, increased by 1.8 million barrels to 120.7 million barrels, or 8.5 percent more than a year ago.
On a week-to-week basis, the agency's report showed a slight decline in refinery output and gasoline demand. Over the past four weeks gasoline demand is 0.7 percent higher than it was during the same period a year ago.
Gasoline futures dropped 2.26 cents Thursday to $2.1014 a gallon, while heating oil prices were down 1.09 cents to $1.9845 a gallon. Natural gas prices rose 4 cents to $6.014 per 1,000 cubic feet.
