Oil prices settled lower on Thursday, with U.S. benchmark prices falling back below $70 a barrel just a day after topping that level for the first time in a week. “The banks are the main driver of oil, and really all risk assets today, as fading confidence in the financial system is reigniting fears that another crisis may be looming after we saw some of the biggest bank failures since 2008 in early March,” said Tyler Richey, co-editor at Sevens Report Research. May West Texas Intermediate crude CLK23 fell 94 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $69.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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