Crude oil prices fall nearly $5 per barrel

New York -- Crude oil prices fell to $89.02 per barrel Monday, dropping below $90 a barrel for the first time since February.

Crude reached an eight-month low following the passage of a $700 billion bailout package in Washington, which analysts had figured would prop up economies and, in turn, prop up demand for oil. However, stock markets worldwide declined on the bill's passage Friday and oil prices fell.

Crude oil prices fell $4.86 to $89.02 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Heating oil prices fell 0.153 cents to $2.5091 per gallon.

Reformulated blendstock gasoline fell 0.139 cents to $2.089 per gallon. Natural gas prices were down 0.47 cents to $6.888 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States was down 0.02 cents Monday at $3.504 a gallon, AAA said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.