light sweet crude

Oil prices fell below $95 a barrel Monday in Asia amid investor concern that China's economy, the world's second-largest, is slowing faster than previously expected.

Describing the president as deeply concerned about the impact on global economic growth of oil supply disruptions in the Middle East and North Africa, the Obama administration announced it would release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next 30 days.

The price per gallon for gasoline is at the second-lowest level in five years, and some economists predict it could drop much further soon. The reason: More-than-ample inventories of crude oil and refined petroleum products.