Mr Bernanke was also upbeat about the prospects for the world's largest economy. Asked if the US was "closer to recession than further away from the last crisis", he replied: "If you look at the US economy, there's nothing to suggest that the expansion is near an end. For example, inflation is very low, some previous recessions were caused by the Fed responding to high inflation. Housing, which a major driver of recovery is in fact below normal, so as housing continues to recover that should add to growth in the next couple of years.