HOUSTON: The boom in onshore natural gas production in the United States has brought down power prices and may be contributing to a “reshoring” of manufacturing jobs from overseas, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said.
The US economy continues to recover, thanks in part to rising energy production, but more needs to be done to boost growth, Bernanke said in one of his first public speeches since handing over the reins at the Fed in January to Janet Yellen.
Natural gas production has been a “terrific development. I don’t want to overstate it but it’s one of the bright spots in the economy,” he said at Houston’s IHS CERAWeek conference, the world’s most influential meeting of energy executives.
“The jobs number we got this morning was consistent with a recovering economy,” added Bernanke, now a distinguished fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution think-tank.
Bernanke is following the well-trodden path of top public servants who meet demand for their expert insights by giving keynote speeches. In the case of the former Fed chief, these could potentially move markets.
He said he was relatively optimistic about the global economy.
Reuters
