Saudi Prince Salman, second from right, brother of Saudi King Abdullah, participates in a traditional sword dance while waiting for President George Bush at the Al Murabba Palace and Natural History Museum in Al Janadriyah, Saudi Arabia. Bush wrapped up a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ? The world’s leading supplier of oil maintained Tuesday that it will not boost production simply to ease pressure on prices, despite President Bush’s warnings here that rising oil prices jeopardize the American and world economies.

The Saudi oil minister’s apparent rebuff of Bush’s plea for increased production, in a nation that controls one-quarter of the world’s known oil reserves, was a rough spot in an otherwise smooth two-day visit for Bush, who arrived in the U.S.-allied kingdom Monday to discuss a $20 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia and the need to contain any regional threats from Iran.

Bush, who has insisted that the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are strong, nevertheless said here that the soaring cost of oil could “slow down” the economy at home. Bush has attempted to cast that as a problem for the Saudis as well: If the world’s leading oil consumer has trouble, so will the world.

“When consumers have less purchasing power because of high prices of gasoline – in other words, when it affects their families – it could cause this economy to slow down,” Bush told reporters. “If the economy slows down, there will be less barrels of oil purchased.”

Bush, who closed his stay in Saudi Arabia by dining at the royal ranch where King Abdullah keeps 150 Arabian stallions, said beforehand he hoped to impress upon the king “a realization that high energy prices can damage consuming economies.”

Yet the Saudis’ reluctance was apparent before Bush arrived at the ranch. The Saudi oil minister called a news conference Tuesday to assert that the Saudis will maintain their production of about 2 million barrels of oil a day, adjusting it only in the interests of market “stability.”

“We will raise production when the market justifies it. This is our policy,” said Ali Naimi, minister of petroleum and mineral resources.

Asked about the potential impact of oil prices on the U.S. economy, he said: “What affects the U.S. economy is more than the price of oil.” But he added, “A recession in the U.S. is very significant to the oil market and demand. … I’m sure that no one would look with pleasure upon a recession in the U.S.”

Asked about gasoline prices – and if Americans might ever again see prices below $2 per gallon – the soft-spoken minister laughed and said: “If I knew the answer to that question, I would be in Las Vegas rather than here.”

Oil prices were running at $54 per barrel on April 25, 2005, the day that Bush last played host to Abdullah, then crown prince, at Bush’s Texas ranch. Now, as Bush leaves Saudi Arabia en route to Egypt on the final stop of his Mideast tour, the price of oil runs in the low $90s.

Oil isn’t all that Bush and Abdullah discussed during two days of dinners and meetings. Bush said the Saudi leader was more interested in the level of the president’s commitment to the peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians than in the current details of the talks.

Bush also discussed the recent National Intelligence Estimate that concluded Iran had shelved its development of nuclear weaponry four years ago.

“I defended the intelligence community, but I made it clear that they are an independent agency. They come to conclusions separate from what I may or may not want,” said Bush, who insists that Iran still poses a threat.