Bernanke: Sustained oil price rise threatens recovery

The soaring oil price poses a threat to the US economic recovery if price hikes are sustained, warns Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke.

Addressing the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke said Middle East unrest and the subsequent rise in commodity prices, including wheat, steel and sugar, will probably translate into a modest and short-lived increase in consumer inflation, the New York Times reports. However, "sustained rises in the prices of oil and other commodities would represent a threat both to economic growth and to overall price stability," he says. The real concerns, though, remain US unemployment figures. "Until we see a sustained period of stronger job creation, we cannot consider the recovery to be truly es...