Bernanke Sees Low Interest Rates Long After Bond Purchases End

 

Bloomberg (20/11) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the labor market has shown “meaningful improvement” since the start of the central bank’s bond-buying program and that the benchmark interest rate will probably stay low long after the purchases end.

“The target for the federal funds rate is likely to remain near zero for a considerable time after the asset purchases end, perhaps well after” the jobless rate falls below the Fed’s 6.5 percent threshold, Bernanke said today in remarks prepared for a speech to economists in Washington. He said a “preponderance of data” would be needed to begin removing accommodation.