Obama says oil spill is a big challenge for U.S. economy

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) U.S. President Barack Obama said 4th that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is an "important challenge" for the U.S. economy, which has seen signs of recovery since the two-year recession. Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Entrepreneur Council, Obama said the U.S. government will take every possible means to monitor the potential impact of the incident on the U.S. economy and will help the affected areas create jobs and support the local economy. "Obviously, the oil spill is an important challenge," he said.　　"Obama said the U.S. government will work to avoid the" catastrophic "oil spill on the U.S. economy caused too much damage, hope that people in the contaminated areas to participate in the oil clean-up operations. April 20, a drilling rig in the sea about 82 kilometres southeast of Venice, United States, exploded and sank into the Gulf of Mexico after burning for about 36 hours, Louisiana.　　The bottom well of the rig has been leaking oil since April 24, resulting in extensive contamination of the oil. This rig belongs to the Swiss Ocean Drilling Company, which is leased by BP.