The US government stands ready to release oil again from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to alleviate a shortage in supply caused by Hurricane Rita, which hit the center of the nation's energy industry, President George W. Bush said Monday.

"A lot of our production comes from the Gulf and when you have a Hurricane Katrina followed by a Hurricane Rita, it's natural, unfortunately, that it's going to affect supplies," Bush said after a briefing at the Energy Department.

The president said that "it's important for our people to know that we understand the situation and we're willing to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to mitigate any shortfall in crude oil that could affect our consumers."

The US government moved to fill a petroleum gap by tapping into the reserve in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Oil prices fell Monday amid reports of slight damage to US petroleum processing areas in Texas.