The price of oil fell Monday as traders waited to see if an insurgency in Iraq would affect the country's oil production and exports.

In a blitz through Iraq's western desert over the weekend, insurgents captured four towns and three border crossings on the country's frontiers with Jordan and Syria, greatly expanding territory under their control in the country's north. The bulk of Iraq's oil production and export operations are in the south.

Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery dropped 66 cents to $106.17 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 69 cents to $114.12 a barrel in London.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

— Wholesale gasoline slipped 2 cents to $3.11 a gallon.

— Natural gas dropped 9 cents to $4.45 per 1,000 cubic feet.

— Heating oil fell 2 cents to $3.03 a gallon.