Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Friday the United States is considering a release from its strategic oil reserves as rising tensions between Iran and the West over its disputed nuclear program fueled a rise in oil prices.

At meeting of G20 economies on Saturday, two people familiar with the discussion said finance officials had discussed the risk to the world economy from oil prices, which rose above $125 a barrel on Friday, but the United States did not push for a release of strategic reserves.

Countries hold oil reserves as a buffer against sudden drops in supply.

A draft communique for the G20 meeting, which is still under discussion, said high oil prices were a risk to the global economy, the sources said, although the outlook was cautiously optimistic.

"The communique says that there are some positive signs in the global economy, coming especially from the U.S. economy, but they are tentative," one G20 official said.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini and Dave Graham; Writing by Krista Hughes)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency