Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says his expected successor, Janet Yellen, "fully supports" the Fed's decision to slow its bond purchases.
Bernanke made the comments at a news conference after the Fed announced it would begin to reduce its bond purchases by $10 billion in January.
Bernanke said that he has made a practice of consulting with Yellen and that she was "consulted closely" before the Fed voted to reduce its bond purchases.
Yellen's nomination as the next Fed chairman is expected to be confirmed soon by the Senate. Bernanke's term as chairman ends on Jan. 31.
Responding to a question, Bernanke said that his impending departure played no role in the decision to vote on reducing the bond purchases at the December meeting.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
