President Clinton assured the nation yesterday he sees no threat of a recession anytime soon because of soaring oil prices.
The president pledged he would “do everything I can to minimize any adverse impact on the American people.”
Attending the Millenium Summit at the United Nations last week, Clinton expressed concern about oil prices, which have reached 10-year highs.
The price of oil is too high, he said, and it would be harmful “if it’s a cause of recession in any part of the world.”
But speaking yesterday at a photo opportunity in the Oval Office, the president said he didn’t think there was any risk of a recession in America “in the short- to medium-term.”
He said the United States has made a major effort over the last 25 years to develop a more diverse economy, less vulnerable to rising oil prices.
“We have withstood this oil-price spike very much better than we did when it happened before,” he 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 said Sunday it would pump an additional 800,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
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.”
The president said he is “keeping all my options open” about how to deal with the problem and is reviewing 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,” he said.
Later, White House press secretary Joe Lockhart told reporters Clinton is considering tapping the 600-million-barrel strategic petroleum reserve, but has made no decision.
“Any decision like that will have to reflect what’s going on in the marketplace,” Lockhart said. “It’s just not something you do on a whim, because you feel like doing it.”
Meanwhile, protests over high fuel prices spread through much of Europe, with truckers blocking highways from Spain to Poland.