US President George Bush says he will not draw down the US strategic oil reserve, saying the action would not affect prices.
He told reporters that if he thought such a move would affect the price of oil, he would seriously consider it.
'But when you are talking about one-tenth of 1% of global demand you do not get any benefits and I think it costs you oil in the case of a national security risk,' President Bush said.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, created in 1974, keeps hundreds of millions barrels of oil stored in underground salt caverns on the Texas and Louisiana coasts.
Oil prices were well below recent record levels this evening, with US crude down $2.70 cents to $116.06 a barrel, after a record high $119.93 on Monday. London's Brent North Sea crude sank $2.67 to $114.07.
Oil prices had been falling as British refinery workers returned to work after a two-day strike that hit fuel supplies. The 48-hour strike over pensions by about 1,200 employees at the Grangemouth refinery, between Glasgow and Edinburgh, ended this morning.
