White House says oil reserves must not be manipulated

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio, Sept 27 (AFP) - The White House said Monday that the Department of Energy was weighing loans of oil from the Stategic Petroleum Reserve but that the stockpile should not be used to "manipulate prices".
As world oil prices raced to new record high levels, close to 50 dollars a barrel, spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters: "obviously it's always something we keep a close eye on, in terms of the price."
"But if you're talking about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, that should not be used to manipulate prices or for political purposes. It's for national emergencies or physical disruptions in the supply," said McClellan.
The spokesman's comments came as unrest in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia alarmed traders already anxious about low oil inventories and US Gulf coast refiners worried about the impact of the season's hurricanes.