Ben Bernanke gives no hint of further US Fed stimulus The world's most powerful central banker also forecast that the drop in the unemployment rate will be "frustratingly slow" in what was a downbeat assessment of the economy before Congress. Hopes had built in financial markets that the Fed chief would use today's apperance to offer strong clues that the bank is about to embark on another round of printing money. Instead, Mr Bernanke refused to elaborate on an earlier pledge that the central bank stood ready to do more if needed. Despite the world's largest economy enjoying a bright start to the year, top officials in the US now face a slowing jobs market, declining retail sales and a fall in business spending. While investors did not get the specific hints they had sought, the Fed chairman's assessment was gloomy enough to convince some that a further round of quantitative easing, or printing money, is inevitable later in the year. "Bernanke is becoming more and more disappointed with the pace of recovery and perhaps more eager to do something about it," said Paul Edelstein, an economist at IHS Global Insight. Having dropped earlier in the day, stock markets on Wall Street recovered in the afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5pc at 12,785.20 in early afternoon trading and the S&P 500 was 0.4pc stronger at 1,359.30. The stock markets may also have been helped because the economy actually delivered a couple of more encouraging signs today. Industrial production climbed 0.4pc last month and a measure of sentiment among homebuilders also increased. However, with the job market faltering and consumer spending under renewed pressure, it was not enough to brighten Mr Bernanke's tone. The Fed chairman did use his appearance to issue a stark warning to Congress that the economy would fall off a "fiscal cliff" unless politicians reached a better agreement by the end of the year on the mix of tax rises and spending cuts needed to reduce the deficit. A series of messy compromise agreements over the last 12 months have left Americans facing a series of tax increases and spending cuts at the start of next year. There are fears that the uncertainty over the tax and spending policy is already slowing business investment and Mr Bernanke urged Congress to reach a deal before November's presidential election.