Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at a banking conference acknowledged a slowdown in the US economy but offered no suggestion the central bank is considering any further monetary stimulus.
“Growth seems likely to pick up somewhat in the second half of the yr. Overall the economic recovery seems to be continuing at a moderate pace at a rate that is both uneven across sectors and frustratingly slow across unemployed and underemployed workers,” Ben Bernanke said.
He said the recovery was still weak enough to warrant keeping in place the Fed's strong monetary support, saying the economy was still growing well below its full potential.At the same time, Bernanke argued that the latest bout of weakness would likely not last very long, and should give way to stronger growth in the second half of the year. He said a recent spike in US inflation, while worrisome, should be similarly transitory. Weak growth in wages and stable inflation expectations suggest few lasting inflation pressures, Bernanke said.
On the budget, Bernanke repeated his call for a long-term plan for a sustainable fiscal path, but warned politicians against massive short-term reductions in spending.
"A sharp fiscal consolidation focused on the very near term could be self-defeating if it were to undercut the still-fragile recovery," Bernanke said.
"By taking decisions today that lead to fiscal consolidation over a longer horizon, policymakers can avoid a sudden fiscal contraction that could put the recovery at risk," he said.
He said the recovery was still weak enough to warrant keeping in place the Fed's strong monetary support, saying the economy was still growing well below its full potential.At the same time, Bernanke argued that the latest bout of weakness would likely not last very long, and should give way to stronger growth in the second half of the year. He said a recent spike in US inflation, while worrisome, should be similarly transitory. Weak growth in wages and stable inflation expectations suggest few lasting inflation pressures, Bernanke said.
On the budget, Bernanke repeated his call for a long-term plan for a sustainable fiscal path, but warned politicians against massive short-term reductions in spending.
"A sharp fiscal consolidation focused on the very near term could be self-defeating if it were to undercut the still-fragile recovery," Bernanke said.
"By taking decisions today that lead to fiscal consolidation over a longer horizon, policymakers can avoid a sudden fiscal contraction that could put the recovery at risk," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment