Bernanke Says He Was Misunderstood

Reuters reports:

CNBC television said on Monday that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told one of its reporters the U.S. central bank was still aggressive on inflation despite saying it could consider a pause in interest rate increases in the future.

"I asked him, 'Mr. Bernanke, did the markets and the media get it right last week in terms of its reaction to your congressional testimony?'," CNBC reporter Maria Bartiromo said of a discussion she had with Bernanke at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday about his testimony before Congress's Joint Economic Committee.

"And he said, 'no.' He said 'it's worrisome that people would look at me as dovish and not necessarily an aggressive inflation-fighter.'"

She also said: "He said that he and his Federal Open Market Committee members wanted to basically create some flexibility for the Federal Reserve, saying they may pause but the data will dictate whether more rate hikes occur at future meetings."

We think the long end of the curve is going lower with or without Bernanke's change in the Fed Funds target rate.