Ben Bernanke, the US government's choice to succeed Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve chief, today promised policy continuity and political independence if confirmed to the powerful economic post.
At his confirmation hearing before US senators, the 51-year-old chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers promised to take no rapid action in support of his preference for the Fed to set an inflation target.
Greenspan, 79, who retires at the end of January after more than 18 years as Fed chairman, opposes an inflation target. He has argued it would unduly limit the Fed's room for policy manoeuvre.
Bernanke, however, said he would not rock the boat if confirmed to succeed the man whom several committee members described as the greatest central banker ever.
'With respect to monetary policy, I will make continuity with the policies and policy strategies of the Greenspan Fed a top priority,' he said, while also rebuffing fears that he might be too close to the White House.
'I assure this committee that, if I am confirmed, I will be strictly independent of all political influences and will be guided solely by the Federal Reserve's mandate from Congress and by the public interest,' he said.
