Bernanke: Inflation rise will be modest, temporary (by Greg Robb)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday said the increase in inflation from the spike in oil prices will be modest and temporary. "The most likely outcome is that the recent rise in commodity prices will lead to, at most, a temporary and relatively modest increase in U.S. consumer price inflation," Bernanke said in prepared remarks to the Senate Banking Committee. He defended the Fed's $600 billion bond-buy program but gave no hints about what the central bank would do after the purchases ends, now expected on June 30.