Crude oil slides off of 2-year high

January delivery crude oil dropped from a 26-month high of $91.37 per barrel to $88.98, a 2.6 percent drop. Heating oil prices also fell, losing 1.81 cents from a prior settlement to $2.4693 per gallon.

Reformulated blendstock gasoline trended lower, losing 2 cents to $2.3321 per gallon. Henry Hub natural gas prices added 1.57 cents to $4.506 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose Monday from Sunday's $2.939 per gallon to $2.951, AAA said.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Sunday the central bank would, if necessary, expand its $600 billion bond purchasing program. Bernanke cautioned the economic recovery is still fragile, causing investors to pull back after three up days on Wall Street.

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