P.M. BRIEFING : BP America, Philips, Conoco Join Arco in Price Freeze, Rollbacks

BP America Inc., Philips Petroleum Co. and Conoco Inc. said today they are cutting their gasoline prices, one day after Atlantic Richfield Co. announced a one-week price freeze.

Other big oil companies promised to practice price restraint amid public outcry over alleged price gouging and after President Bush asked the industry to show restraint in the face of escalating tensions in the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

BP, the Cleveland-based subsidiary of British Petroleum and the ninth-largest oil company in the United States, said it is rolling back prices at the gas pumps by 3 cents per gallon.

No. 11 Phillips, based in Bartlesville, Okla., said it is cutting prices at some of its gasoline terminals by as much as 4.5 cents due to market changes.

Conoco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wilmington, Del.-based Du Pont Co., said it lowered by 3 to 4 cents its wholesale prices for gasoline and by a penny its price for diesel fuel.