Oil prices slipped below $91 a barrel today as markets grappled with Greece's debt crisis and the release of crude reserves by the International Energy Agency. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for August delivery was down 61 cents to $90.55 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Dow, meanwhile, was up 100 points early on optimism that Greek lawmakers will approve a $39.8 billion austerity plan on Wednesday.
Crude fell last week after the International Energy Agency said it will make 60 million barrels available over a 30-day period, half of which will come from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Some analysts said the price decline could be temporary. "We doubt the world's energy supply will be solved by such a paltry sum," energy consultant The Schork Group said in a report. "This move might assuage the market this summer, but it is by no means a long-term fix." (More Greece stories.)