Oil prices have fallen below $90 a barrel on worries that the spreading financial crisis will exacerbate a global economic slowdown and cut demand for crude oil.

Spokesman Mark Plowden said that Attorney General Henry McMaster wants to know when stations and suppliers decided to change prices, and by how much.

The leader of the South Carolina Senate says the state needs a comprehensive energy plan.

With the unemployment rate at a five-year high, Democrats are floating the idea of another stimulus package of more than 50 billion dollars.

Oil companies are evacuating their offshore facilities in the western Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Ike approaches.

That announcement frees up a vote on a defense bill Republicans had held up because of partisan disputes over the country’s energy policy.

Oil prices have fallen nearly 30 percent since reaching an all-time high of almost $150 a barrel in July.

The president says while it’s too early to assess damage to oil facilities off the Gulf Coast, the storm should prompt Congress to OK more domestic oil development.

Investors shifted their focus to slowing global demand after worries about Hurricane Gustav subsided.