Fed chairman renews concern about gas-fueled inflationary pressures

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday that although economic activity is moderating, record-high oil prices have the potential to make inflation worse. It’s a development that bears close watching, he said. Delivering his second economic report to Capitol Hill, Bernanke also stressed that these are difficult and uncertain times for Fed policy-makers, saying the climate of slowing growth and rising inflation puts the Fed in a tricky spot in terms of setting interest rates.

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