Oil prices drop after death

Oil prices sank by more than $1 a barrel Thursday following the death of al-Qaida’s leader in Iraq and on concerns of a slowdown in global economic growth, among other factors.

From an oil-market perspective, analysts cautioned against reading too much into the U.S. air strike that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant who led a campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and other violence across Iraq.

Al-Zarqawi was not directly linked to attacks on Iraqi oil infrastructure, said Antoine Halff, director of global energy at Fimat USA in New York. “As such, I don’t think his death will result in a significant decline in attacks on pipelines,” he said. “Attacks on pipelines are by former Baath party insiders.”

Word by Nigerian militants that they would release foreign hostages and an easing of world tensions over Iran contributed to Thursday’s 2 percent decline in oil prices, which dipped by a similar amount Wednesday after U.S. data showed rising crude and gasoline supplies.