Bernanke Says Fed Would Act If The Economy Worsens

In his highly anticipated speech, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said at an annual economics conference in Wyo on Friday that economic growth had been "somewhat less vigorous" than what was expected. Mr. Bernanke added that the Fed would take the necessary steps to support an economic recovery. The Fed Chairman expressed, however, that the economy is expected to continue growing in 2011. The central bank would not take any new action unless there was a worsening of the economic conditions, he explained. Mr. Bernanke said there were many options to boost the economy, while adding that the Fed had not as yet decided on which course of action to take. One of the triggers with the central bank is the long-term interest rates, which it can cut by purchasing government bonds and other securities. The US economy grew only 1.6% in the second quarter, according to the latest revision of the GDP figures released by the government. Although this not compare well with the previous growth estimate of 2.4%, the figure was better than what had been expected. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.