Citing Risk of Deflation, Bernanke Pledges To Keep Expanding Monetary Base for ‘Foreseeable Future’

The Federal Reserve chairman says he may have to take more aggressive action to increase inflation

Bernanke: Economy Still Needs Fed Stimulus (USA Today)

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday the central bank will likely keep at least some of its easy-money policies going "for the foreseeable future."

Noting that unemployment is still too high and inflation too low, Bernanke said, "both sides of our mandate are saying we need to be more accommodative."

He spoke about Fed policies in a Q&A session after a speech in Cambridge, Mass., to the National Bureau of Economic Research.this

Bernanke rattled stock and bond markets last month when he said the Fed likely will reduce its stimulus later this year and end it by mid-2014, assuming the 7.6% jobless rate falls to 7% by then. The Fed is buying $85 billion a month in government bonds to hold down long-term interest rates.

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