Global Biz

Oil falls below $113 after bin Laden killed

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-02 13:41

SINGAPORE - Oil prices eased off two-and-a-half-year highs to below $113 a barrel Monday after President Barack Obama announced that al-Qaida leader Osama bid Laden had been killed. Live report

Benchmark crude for June delivery was down $1.23 at $112.70 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract rose $1.07 to settle at $113.93 on Friday and reached $114.18 during in the session, the highest since September 2008.

In London, Brent crude for June delivery was down 98 cents to $124.91 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Obama said bin Laden was killed Sunday by American special forces in Pakistan. Traders said the death of bin Laden could weaken al-Qaida's ability to carry out attacks and destabilize the oil-rich Middle East.

However, al-Qaida operatives could also seek revenge for their leader's death, and political uprisings this year throughout the Middle East and North Africa that have threatened to disrupt crude supplies were not related to al-Qaida.