Oil Prices No Threat To U.S.?

Winter Fuel Costs Could Be A Problem In Some Areas

(CBS)  U.S. President Bill Clinton sees no threat of recession from rising oil prices, but says he's keeping his options open to deal with skyrocketing costs.

"We have worked very hard over the last 25 years to be a more diverse economy and a less energy intensive economy in a lot of our production," Mr. Clinton said during a photo opportunity with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The president said he will closely watch the oil price impact on specific regions of the country.

"I will do everything I can to minimize any adverse impact on the American people," the president said.

Last week in New York, Mr. Clinton expressed concern about oil prices, which have soared to 10-year highs. He said then that the price of oil was too high and said it would be harmful "if it's a cause of recession in any part of the world."

He said oil markets are still evaluating OPEC's recent vote to increase production. So far that promise has had little impact on oil prices on world markets.

Mr. Clinton said he did not think there was a risk of a recession in America "in the short to medium term."

"We have withstood this oil price spike very much better than we did when it happened before," the president said. "Now, what we need to do is watch the situation closely. The market is still sorting out what to do with the recent OPEC announcement and I think there will be an evaluation of what the production schedules are - who does what in the various countries, how quickly."

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced Sunday it would pump an additional 800,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

Mr. Clinton said the OPEC announcement and actions taken since then "are not enough, I think, for the market to sort out what it's going to do."

He urged Congress, in its last weeks in this year's session, to reauthorize the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He also criticized lawmakers for failing to act on his proposals for energy tax incentives for businesses and individuals.

Mr. Clinton said he was "keeping all my options open" about how to deal with the oil price problem and was reviewing problems in specific areas of the country, such as the Northeast where many Americans heat their homes with oil.

"I'm spending a great deal of time on this," the president said.

World oil prices have tripled in a year and futures now are trading above $35 a barrel. This summer has seen some of the highest gasoline prices in the United States since the shortage of the 1970s.