Fed Chairman and former South Of The Border employee, Ben Bernanke, says these historically low interest rates will continue… but not forever.

“Although the federal funds rate is likely to remain exceptionally low for an extended period, as the expansion matures, the Federal Reserve will at some point need to begin to tighten monetary conditions to prevent the development of inflationary pressures,” Mr. Bernanke said in a prepared statement.

The fun part of the hearing was, of course, Ron Paul. Ron Paul and Ben Bernanke should be forced to be roommates on a reality show, but in lieu of that we’ll have to settle for this recap from the NYT:

After Mr. Paul suggested that money used in the 1972 Watergate break-in came from the Federal Reserve, and that the Fed had loaned $5.5 billion to the regime of Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Mr. Bernanke replied, “The specific allegations you have made are absolutely bizarre. I have no knowledge of anything remotely like what you’ve described.”

Bernanke Forecasts Long Period of Low Interest Rates [NYT]

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