Oil fell below $70 a barrel Monday as a steep drop in China's stock market raised doubts about the strength of the US and global economic recovery. Benchmark crude for October delivery lost $2.91 at $69.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract on Friday added 25 cents to settle at $72.74, after falling from near $75 earlier in the week. Oil has traded near $70 a barrel for most of the last few months as investors struggle to gauge how robust the US recovery will be. Crude has tried and failed several times to break through the $75 level, but key fundamentals remain bearish. The US Energy Department last week said that US crude stockpiles rose by 200,000 barrels for the week.
