That lent credence to the case that as the economy slows, this will diminish demand for goods, damping price increases.
He said that even a moderate increase in the amount of gas made available would have damped prices.
Only a year ago, when gasoline prices jumped to more than $2 a gallon in some regions, then-Governor Bush said the government could damp prices by pressing oil-producing countries to "open up the spigot," a task he said the Clinton administration had bungled.
The markets also responded to fresh evidence of rising inflation, which damps stock prices and pushes up interest rates.
The Republican proposals to expand domestic oil and gas drilling could damp oil prices, though not for at least five years because of the long lead times to discover and develop new reserves.
That expectation had helped to damp stock prices, and had led many economists to predict that the robust consumer spending fostered by the so-called "wealth effect" of a rising stock market would begin to moderate, weakening the economy.
Production, jobs and housing data in recent months have painted a picture of a rapid economic rebound and have prompted a string of interest rate increases as the central bank seeks to damp rising prices, including those in the booming housing market.
A currency board would rein in spiraling prices, damping riots while Indonesia grapples with reforms imperative for long-term stability.
The United States has few options to increase supply and damp a price surge.
The result will be to damp down price pressures on housing in high-cost areas, since the shift makes investment in a house slightly less valuable.
