Ben Bernanke yesterday highlighted the “numerous difficulties” facing the US economy in a sobering testimony that sent the markets on a rollercoaster ride as he signalled serious risks to growth and higher than expected inflation.
The Federal Reserve chairman told Congress that strains in financial markets, declining house prices, a weaker labour market and higher oil prices were all putting pressure on the outlook.
Shares in the US – already weak before Mr Bernanke spoke – fell sharply, before rallying on a substantial decline in oil prices. But the main European and Asian markets fell sharply throughout the day with financial stocks particularly hard hit. In London the FTSE100 closed down 2.4 per cent at 5171.9, its lowest level since October 2005.
By midday, oil had slumped to $138.42 a barrel after trading at an early high of $146.73. As oil slid, the euro, which had hit a new record high of $1.6038 against the dollar in early trading, eased back. Gold rallied to its highest level in four months.
Promising that the Fed would continue to view restoring the financial markets to health as “a top priority”, Mr Bernanke said policymakers believed that the risks to growth were “skewed to the downside”.
But he said the inflation risk had “intensified lately” with continued increases in oil and other commodity prices that would push overall inflation higher in the short term. Mr Bernanke said it was “critical” that policymakers prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched in the shape of higher inflation expectations that would feed into domestic wage and price-setting.
The Fed chairman said he was less concerned about the possibility of widespread bank failures than he was about the prospect that banks would cut back on lending to the economy as they absorb losses and try to reduce their leverage.
美联储主席本•伯南克(Ben Bernanke)昨日在国会作证时强调，美国经济面临“众多困难”。他表示，美国经济增长面临严重风险，通胀将会高于预期。他这番发人深省的言论令市场上演了一波过山车行情。
伯南克对美国国会表示，金融市场的紧张形势、房价的下跌、就业市场走弱以及油价上涨等因素，均对经济前景构成压力。
伯南克发表讲话后，本已走弱的股市应声急挫，其后在油价大跌的推动下出现反弹。但欧洲和亚洲主要股市全日大幅走低，金融股受挫尤为沉重。伦敦富时100指数收盘跌2.4%，至5171.9点，创下2005年10月以来最低点位。
周二午盘，油价由早盘每桶146.73美元的高位，跌至138.42美元。随着油价走低，早盘创下1.6038美元历史新高的欧元汇率出现回落。金价升至4个月高位。
伯南克承诺，美联储将继续把恢复金融市场健康视为“第一要务”。他表示，政策制定者认为，经济增长的风险“向下降趋势倾斜”。
但他表示，通胀风险“最近有所加剧”，石油及**大宗商品价格持续上涨，在短期内将推高整体通胀。他指出，对于政策制定者来说，“至关重要”的一点是要防止高通胀以高通胀预期的形式确定下来，从而带动国内工资及物价上涨。
伯南克表示，他更担心的不是银行普遍破产的可能性，而是银行在消化损失和减轻负债的时候，可能减少对经济的放贷。
英国《金融时报》克里什纳•古哈(Krishna Guha)和詹姆斯•波利提(James Politi)华盛顿、迈克尔•麦肯兹(Michael Mackenzie)纽约报道