WASHINGTON, Mar 6 (AP/UNB) - President Barack Obama's chief of staff says the administration is looking at the U.S. strategic oil reserves as it considers options for dealing with the spike in gas prices.

The price of a barrel of oil has passed $100. In the U.S., gasoline is averaging $3.50 a gallon.
Those increases come amid unrest in the oil-producing Middle East, particularly as rebellion rages in Libya.

White House chief of staff William Daley tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that all options are being considered for a short-term response to rising oil prices.

At times the government has tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve emergency supply to stabilize prices. The reserve contains 727 million barrels of oil.

Daley says officials are concerned about the impact of oil prices on the fragile economic recovery.