Testimonio de Bernanke (y nuestra pausa de 2 semanas)

Genevieve Signoret & Patrick Signoret

Estamos poniendo el blog en su pausa trimestral habitual de dos semanas. Reanudaremos su publicación el 1 de agosto.

Los dejamos con el testimonio que rindió Bernanke hoy ante el Senado como parte de su entrega del informe semi-anual de política monetaria. Como esperábamos, no anunció ni dio fuertes indicios de una tercera ronda de relajamiento cuantitativo (QE3), aunque sí lo mencionó como una de las herramientas de las cuales dispone la Fed. WSJ resume:

Mr. Bernanke discussed several steps the Fed could take if it chooses to take additional action. It could put off to beyond 2014 its plan to avoid short-term interest-rate increases. It could add to its holdings of mortgage-backed securities or Treasury securities as part of an effort to drive down long-term interest rates and drive up stocks and other bonds—a step known to many as quantitative easing, or QE.

The Fed could also cut the 0.25% interest rate it pays to banks on the approximately $1.6 trillion in excess reserves they keep parked at the U.S. central bank, Mr. Bernanke said. The European Central Bank took a similar step recently. The Fed has explored this option in the past but refrained from taking it, in part because of worries that it would disrupt short-term money markets.

The Fed chairman hinted at another option—the possibility of getting credit to banks through the Fed’s discount window, which normally is used only for emergencies.

Vea el video completo con la sesión de preguntas a través de C-SPAN.