US Central Bank Chief: Fed Will Cut Interest Rates As Needed

Bernanke said the housing market is continuing to weaken as problems persist with mortgage lending. Speaking to a business audience in Washington, Bernanke signaled the further interest rates cut in our head.

"We stand ready to take substantive additional action as needed to support growth and provide adequate insurance against downside risks."

Financial markets are now expecting a 0.5 percent reduction in the short-term fed funds rate when the Federal Reserve policy-making committee concludes a two-day meeting on January 30th. In an effort to boost economic activity, the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates three times by a cumulative one percent since a housing-related credit crisis rattled global markets in August.

While acknowledging that there has been a significant slowdown in the US economy, Bernanke says he does not foresee a decline.

"The Federal Reserve is not now currently forecasting a recession, we are forecasting slow growth. And as I mentioned today, there are downside risks."

Some forecasters believe that falling home prices and higher gasoline prices have already triggered a slowdown in consumer spending and that the economy may even now be in recession.

参考译文：

贝南克说由于持续存在抵押贷款问题，房地产市场仍然处于疲软中。在华盛顿针对业界人士的讲话中，贝南克暗示近期会进一步的降息。

“我们已经做好准备，在必要时采取‘大量附加的行动（substantive additional action）’，以防范经济增长的‘下行风险’”。

当美联储政策制定委员会为期2天的会议在1月30日结束时，金融市场预计在短期内美联储资金利率会下降0.5%。在推进经济活动的努力中，自8月与房地产相关的信贷危机危及到全球市场开始，美联储已经将利息下调了3次，累积降低达1个百分点。

虽然承认美国经济增长明显减缓，但是贝南克说他预计不会出现衰退。

“现在，美联储预测将出现一个不景气阶段，我们预计增长将变缓。正如我今天所提到的，存在着‘下行风险’。”

一些预测家认为房价下降和油价升高已经引起了居民消费放缓，而且可能现在经济就处于不景气期。

TAG: voa,voa下载,voa标准英语,voa英语,voa news,voa english,voa standard,voa听力,美国之音