No hasty Fed policy change

Janet Yellen emphasized Thursday the central bank would not stand in the way of supporting a robust US economic recovery.

"I consider it imperative to do what we can do to promote a very strong recovery," she told a Senate panel hearing on her nomination.

She was questioned closely on her views ahead of a banking committee vote on her nomination by President Barack Obama to succeed outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

No U-turn in sight

Yellen stressed Fed policy makers had the will and commitment to strengthen growth and the jobs market in the absence of inflation pressures and with the country still facing high unemployment.

But the nominee conceded the central bank's stimulus program, including its generous asset-purchase scheme to hold interest rates down "could not continue forever." Yellen said the Fed would keep a close eye on the impact of the current easy-money approachand was taking the potential risks very seriously."

She also commented on the recent stock market rallies, seeing both the Dow and S&P 500 climb to new records on Wednesday. Agreeing that values had risen pretty robustly, Yellen argued "you would not see stock prices in territory that suggested bubble-like conditions."

hg/dr (AFP, dpa)