Oil falls below $70 on death of al Qaeda's Zarqawi

Reuters reports:

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil fell 1.7 percent to below $70 for the first time in two weeks on Thursday after the death of al Qaeda'a leader in Iraq, where crude exports have been curbed by frequent sabotage attacks and instability.

The plunge deepened losses from a day ago, when U.S. data showed rising crude and fuel inventories, easing concerns about summer supplies in the world's biggest consumer.

U.S. crude oil fell $1.21 to $69.71 a barrel by 0818 GMT after losing $1.68 or 2 percent on Wednesday. London Brent crude fell $1.10 to $68.09 a barrel.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a televised news conference on Thursday that Zarqawi had been "terminated".

Is he dead this time?