Recession is 'over' says Bernanke

The US recession is probably over but the economy will remain weak for some time due to unemployment, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has said.

"From a technical perspective, the recession is very likely over," he told a Washington think tank. He said the consensus is the economy is growing.

But he added that the economy would still feel "very weak" to Americans concerned about job security.

Stocks on Wall Street fell marginally lower following his comments.

Mr Bernanke also said that he felt "quite confident" that Congress would approve comprehensive reform of US financial regulation.

The Obama administration is trying to push through regulations designed to prevent another financial crisis.

Mr Bernanke's remarks were made at the Brookings Institution on the day marking the one-year anniversary of the collapse of US bank Lehman Brothers.

He delivered the same speech to a conference in Wyoming in August.

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