At Final House Oversight Hearing, Bernanke Commits to Continued Money Expansion

Ben Bernanke Stresses Stimulus Tapering not on ‘Preset Course’ (Financial Post)

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the U.S. central bank still expects to start scaling back its massive bond purchase program later this year, but he left open the option of changing that plan if the economic outlook shifted.

While sticking closely to a time-line to wind down the bond buying that he first outlined last month, Bernanke went out of his way to stress that nothing was set in stone.

“Our asset purchases depend on economic and financial developments, but they are by no means on a preset course,” he said in prepared remarks to the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

The Canadian dollar firmed to a session high against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday after the release of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony.