WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has released 30 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to combat high gasoline prices and continued turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East, the Associated Press reports.

Also, the International Energy Agency said it is releasing 60 million barrels of crude oil from strategic reserves, half from the U.S. oil reserves, Reuters reports. The agency hopes the move will keep speculators from the market and a bubble from forming, as well as stop any near-term shortages in supplies.

"We are taking this action in response to the ongoing loss of crude oil due to supply disruptions in Libya and other countries and their impact on the global economic recovery," said U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu to the Associated Press.

The Obama administration pointed to the Libya uprising contributing to a daily drop of around 1.5 million barrels of oil. The United States traditionally uses more energy in July and August, another reason for the release.

The government usually dips into the oil reserves during extreme circumstances. The last time reserves were drawn was after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008.

Oil prices plummeted yesterday following the Federal Reserve??s warning that the U.S. economy??s recovery is progressing slower than anticipated. U.S. retail gasoline prices fell for the 20th consecutive day to reach $3.61 per gallon.