Ben Bernanke says that the pace of bond buys is “not on a preset courseâ€. What does this mean? The dollar is lower, but mostly due to the very weak housing data. The Q&A session with lawmakers will probably be of more interest.
Follow a live blog of the Q&A session here.
While QE is not on a “preset courseâ€, Bernanke repeated the June 19th stance that the Fed could taper in 2013 and totally halt purchases at mid 2014. The mere mention of tapering is a return to the FOMC statement and is different from the recent speech, making the testimony sound more dovish. Nevertheless, there is nothing new here. Not yet – the Q&A might create the fireworks.
Bernanke notes that the recovery continued at a moderate pace and that highly accommodative policy is likely in the foreseeable future (same as in his recent speech). And while low inflation is a risk, some of the reasons for low inflation are “transitory†only.
Ahead of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony in Washington, the text of this testimony was released an hour and a half earlier. He will read out the text at 14:00 GMT and then answer questions. His answers are also expected to move the markets.
Bernanke’s testimony is a highly anticipated event. After hinting towards upcoming tapering on June 19th (sending the dollar higher), his recent speech (and the meeting minutes) sounded quite dovish and sent the dollar down.
More:Â Falling inflation could push QE tapering towards late 2013
