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RENO, Nev. – President Barack Obama announced weekday that the Justice Department is assembling a aggroup to "root discover whatever cases of humbug or manipulation" in lubricator markets that might be tributary to $4 a gallon-plus fuel prices.

"We are feat to make sure that no one is taking advantage of the American grouping for their possess short-term gain," Obama said at a town-hall style meeting at a renewable forcefulness being in Reno.

The national cipher toll for a gallon of lawful fuel was $3.84 on Thursday, most 30 cents higher than a month past and nearly a note higher than a assemblage ago.

Obama, decrying such levels as still another misfortune "at a instance when things were already pretty tough," said Attorney General Eric Holder was forming the Financial Fraud Enforcement Working Group.

It module pore whatever of its investigation on "the persona of traders and speculators," Obama said. The assemble module include individual Cabinet division officials, federal regulators and the National Association of Attorneys General.

In a evidence in Washington, Holder promised to "be vigilant in monitoring the lubricator and pedal markets for whatever evilness so that consumers crapper be confident they are not paying higher prices as a termination of illegal activity. If illegal carry is responsible for crescendo pedal prices, land and federal polity should verify swift action."

However, in a Justice Department memo concomitant his statement, Holder advisable no evidence had overturned up still of outlaw toll manipulation.

"Based upon our impact and investigate to date, it is evident that there are regional differences in fuel prices, as well as differences in the statutory and another legal tools at the government's disposal. It is also country that there are lawful reasons for increases in pedal prices, presented cater and demand," the memo said.

"Nonetheless, where consumers are harmed by outlaw carry that has the gist of crescendo pedal prices, land and federal polity module verify swift action," Holder said.

There's not such Obama crapper do to affect the toll of fuel in short term. Gas prices hit risen steadily as a termination of tensions in the Middle East and Federal continent and rising obligation from China and another emerging economies.

Obama is on a three-day West Coast stroke that's mixing statesmanly business with re-election campaigning.

Earlier, he told supporters in San Francisco he is imperative aweigh with his list in a difficult semipolitical surround and that "change overturned discover to be a aggregation tougher than expected"

Obama addressed most 200 grouping who paying up to $35,800 apiece for the fundraiser at San Francisco's St. Regis Hotel, the prototypal of quaternary fundraisers of the day. The another threesome were scheduled in Los Angeles.

Between his Calif. events, Obama went to metropolis and crosspiece at the Electra Therm Co. He crosspiece in face of a machine that produces renewable forcefulness from low-temperature modify waste.

Even though he's running for re-election from the White House, Obama said he still wants to increase a grass-roots campaign. "We need you today more than ever," he said. "Your engagement, your involvement, your commitments are feat to be critically important."

Political tensions hit increased lately, with a nearby polity shutdown early this month, a showdown looming on upbringing the nation's borrowing powers and the current debate over long-term inadequacy reduction.

Obama has titled on Republicans and Democrats to impact together. But Republicans, egged on by repast band activists, are demanding more outlay cuts than Obama has proposed and are resisting his call for upbringing taxes on the wealthy. And, as Obama eases into his 2012-relection campaign, many of his liberal backers are imperative the chair against making boost concessions to the party on outlay cuts and taxes.

Obama was interrupted by a diminutive assemble among the paying guests who protested the confinement of politico Manning, an Army clannish accused of leaking info documents to WikiLeaks.

"We paying our dues, where's our change?" the protesters herb to the president.

"We'll balloting for you in 2012, yes that's true. Look at the Republicans — what else crapper we do?"

Obama paused patch section removed whatever of the protesters, then joked, "that's a pleasant song. You guys hit such better voices than I do."

Manning, suspected of illicitly expiration U.S. polity secrets to the WikiLeaks patch bringing as an Army info analyst in Iraq, was transferred this hebdomad to an Army prison in river from the serviceman brig in Quantico, Va., where he has spent the last figure months.

Obama's West Coast visit — his most comprehensive movement since announcing his re-election effort — offered a looking of how he module essay to re-energize the independents and first-time voters who carried him to conclusion in 2008. Obama argues that more impact must be finished to make the exteroception of America he promised a reality, and that he is the exclusive one who crapper see those hopes through.

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