Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke no plans to raise interest rates on 100 Mortgages

A Washington Post op-ed reported that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has no plans at the current time to raise interest rates however: he has said that he is more concerned about growth than inflation. Sources close to Bernanke, has said that the Chairman sees the higher prices people are paying for their energy is more of a threat to growth and not a driver of inflation.

According to columnist Robert Novak, it seems as though Ben Bernanke is far more concerned about low growth, Novak has said Privately, Bernanke is said to be much more concerned about low growth.” He also added “Bernanke feels that oil at $125 a barrel and $4-a-gallon gasoline threatens contraction more than inflation, despite the daunting prices.”

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said on June 5 that a rate hike at the meeting in July was possible. But it seems that Bernanke behind closed doors disagrees with the European position more than he makes out in public.

Ben Bernanke has some tough decisions to make, much like his UK counterpart Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King. He has to write a letter to the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, and explain to him why inflation has risen over 2 percent. King believes that inflation is now at 3.1 percent, many believe that the Governor will have to raise interest rates next month, in the hope of bringing inflation down.

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