Bush says OPEC oil supply boost would be "helpful"

By Matt Spetalnick

RIYADH (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that more oil from OPEC would help ease the pain to consumers of high energy prices, applying more pressure on Saudi Arabia to do something to tame prices.

Bush warned that high energy cost could cause the U.S. economy to slowdown, reiterating that he would raise his concerns face-to-face with Saudi King Abdullah later on Tuesday.

"OPEC should understand that if they can put more supply on the market it will be helpful," Bush told reporters in Riyadh when asked what the producer group could do to alleviate high oil prices.

"I will say to Abdullah that high energy prices can affect economic growth because it's painful for our consumers ... could cause the U.S. economy to slow down," Bush said.

But the president of the world's largest energy consumer acknowledged oil producers had little spare oil capacity available to boost output. "There is not a lot of excess capacity in the market place," Bush said.

Oil eased to around $94 a barrel on Tuesday, pulled back by a concern a recession in the United States would eat up into fuel demand.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter and OPEC's most influential voice, holds most of the world's spare crude output capacity. The kingdom is producing around 9 million barrels per day and has capacity to pump 11.3 million bpd.

OPEC, source of more than a third of the world's oil, has repeatedly said it is pumping enough crude to meet demand and blames speculation, a weak dollar and international political tension for record high oil prices.

(Writing by Simon Webb and Inal Ersan)