Oil price may hit economic growth: Bodman

By Matthew Robinson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said on Tuesday that soaring energy prices could damage economic growth but there was little the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could do to help bring them down.

U.S. crude prices have hovered around $70 a barrel in recent weeks after striking a record over $75 last month, raising concerns that high energy costs may push inflation higher and curb consumer activity.

But Bodman said the economy of the United States, the world's biggest oil consumer, was holding up well so far under the strain.

"Am I concerned about the impact of high oil prices on the economy? Sure," Bodman told the Reuters Global Energy Summit in New York.

"Having said that, it hasn't happened yet in a meaningful way. But we have a very resilient economy, we continue to produce jobs at extraordinary rates. Very strong economic numbers," he added.

SCARCE CAPACITY

Ongoing worries about supply stability from oil producing nations such as Iran, Iraq, Venezuela and Nigeria had added a premium to prices, Bodman said.

Asked if oil cartel OPEC, scheduled to meet next week in Caracas to decide on production policy, can do nothing to bring down prices, Bodman said, "Not in my judgment."  Continued...