Greenspan: Oil Prices Cost U.S. GDP Growth

ByJohn S. McClenahen Rising prices for imported oil so far have slowed GDP growth in the U.S. this year by three-quarters of a percentage point, figures Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. However, "the impact of the current surge in oil prices, though noticeable, is likely to prove less consequential to economic growth and inflation than in the 1970s," the Fed chairman said in an Oct. 15 Washington, D.C., speech. Yet Greenspan is hedging that prediction. "Obviously, the risk of more serious negative consequences would intensify if oil prices were to move materially higher," he said.