Bernanke: Fed has Ability to Ease Further

The Federal Reserve has room to deliver additional monetary stimulus to boost the U.S. economy, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told a Congressional oversight panel in a letter.

Read: Bernanke's Complete Letter

"There is scope for further action by the Federal Reserve to ease financial conditions and strengthen the recovery," Bernanke wrote to the committee's chairman, Congressman Darrell Issa, in a letter obtained by Reuters on Friday.

Bernanke next week will give a closely watched speech at the central bank's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which will be closely watched for clues into the prospect of further bond-buying from the Fed. (Reporting By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)