Bernanke Testimony on Capitol Hill

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke makes an opening statement on the current state of the economy and his forecast on inflation.
Ben Bernanke :"...i'll begin with the discussion of current economic conditions and outlook and then turn to monetary policy. the u.s. economy has continued to recover and the pace of expansion so far this year has been modest. after increasing in the second half of 2010, real GDP rose at 2% rate in the first quarter of this year and incoming data suggesting that the pace of recovery remains soft in the spring. at the same time, the unemployment rate at the turn of the year has moved back above 9%. in part, the recent weaker than expected economic performance appears to have been the result of several factors that are likely to be temporary. notably, the run-up in prices of energy, especially gasoline and food has reduced purchasing power. the supply chain caused vehicle motor producers to curtail assemblies and limit the availability of some models. looking forward, however, the apparent stabilization in the prices of oil and other commodities should ease the prices on household budgets and vehicle manufacturers report that they are making significant progress in overcoming the part shortages and expect to increase production substantially this summer. in light of these developments, the most recent projections by recent members of the federal reserve board and banks prepared in conjunction with the FOMC meeting in June reflected their assessment of the pace of economic recovery will pick up in coming quarters..."