White House: higher oil prices won't halt recovery (White House economist Austan Goolsbee)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Wednesday said higher oil prices caused by Middle East unrest must be monitored but would not stall the U.S. recovery, while reiterating a warning on the risks posed by global imbalances. "Thus far, they're up, but we're not forecasting -- and you haven't seen the private forecasters forecasting -- that at these levels they would derail the recovery," said top White House economist Austan Goolsbee. U.S. crude oil reached a 28-month high of $100 a barrel on Wednesday as violence in OPEC producer Libya caused output there to be reduced and investors bet...