Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has no plans to raise interest rates and is more concerned about growth than inflation, a Washington Post op-ed reported on Monday.
Citing "sources close to" Bernanke, columnist Robert Novak said the Fed chairman sees high energy prices as a threat to growth, not a driver of inflation.
"Privately, Bernanke is said to be much more concerned about low growth," Novak wrote. "Bernanke feels that oil at $125 a barrel and $4-a-gallon gasoline threaten contraction more than inflation, despite the daunting prices."
The op-ed also paints the Fed in contrast to the European Central Bank. On June 5, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said a rate hike at the July meeting was "possible".
"Bernanke, according to sources, disagrees more with the European position than is reflected by his public statements," Novak wrote.
By Adam Button and edited by Stephen Huebl