Ben Bernanke to ABC: Recovery Has "Long Way To Go"

On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated comments he made on Monday about the state of the U.S. economy. Speaking to ABC News' Diane Sawyer, he said that “It's far too early to declare victory." The interview aired on Tuesday night on "World News." Although the Fed Chief continues to maintain a very cautious outlook, he did acknowledge that there has been some reason for optimism on the jobs front. He also said that business sentiment has improved and that fears over the European debt crisis have subsided to a degree. “The financial system looks stronger and more stable," he said, but he noted that the housing market is still "pretty flat." He added, “We need to be cautious and make sure this is sustainable. We haven't quite yet got to the point where we can be completely confident that we're on a track to full recovery.” On Monday, Bernanke said that the Fed will continue to maintain ultra-low interest rates in order to try to spur more growth in the labor market. In his interview with Sawyer, he reiterated this view. “Unless we get faster growth than we've been seeing, it is probably gonna take a while still." In responding to a question about the possibility of another round of "quantitative easing," the Chairman said that the Fed was leaving all options on the table. In addressing the sharp rise in oil and gasoline prices in recent months, he told Sawyer that it was a "major problem" which he viewed as a "moderate" risk to the economy. "They're obviously a hardship for lots of people. It must be awfully frustrating to get a small raise at work and then have it all eaten by a higher cost of commuting.” The Princeton educated economist, however, argued that at current prices, the headwind would not be a severe threat to sustained growth. “We don't think it's going to be anything that's going to stall the recovery."