Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke holds his second news conference of the year after a meeting of the central bank’s monetary policy committee, known as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
Bernanke during the news conference noted the potential for interest rate adjustments by the FOMC. “The thrust of ‘extended period’ is that we believe we’re at least two or three meetings away from taking any further action, and I emphasize ‘at least.’”
Federal Reserve officials said in a statement today after their two-day meeting that the main causes of the U.S. economy's slowdown, such as high gas prices and supply disruptions from Japan's natural disaster, are temporary.
With recent predictions that the economic recovery is slowing down, the FOMC’s decisions on monetary policies will have a widespread effect. The committee also discussed possible adoption of the explicit inflation target strategy supported by Bernanke.
Bernanke is the first Chair to hold a news conference in the Federal Reserve’s 97-year history.