There was at least one good sign after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s remarks at his first-ever press conference following a Fed policy meeting on Wednesday.
The stock market rose.
But the dollar dropped – the ICE U.S. Dollar Index hit its lowest point since August 2008 – oil rose (portending still-higher gasoline prices), and analysts said there was little new information upon which to forecast an uptick in the nation’s economy.
Even Bernanke wasn’t upbeat, saying Americans are rightfully impatient with the slow pace of the economic recovery (with many continuing to say there’s not much evidence of a recovery at all).
“The combination of high unemployment, high gas prices and high foreclosure rates is a terrible combination,” Bernanke said.
A statement from the Fed meeting earlier in the day said the agency will end its $600 billion bond-buying program, called QE2, in June. It also said the group will continue to watch inflation but continues to think higher gas prices are temporary.
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