Fed's monetary stimulus to continue for "extended period"

The Federal Reserve's easy monetary policy will likely stay for an "extended period" to bolster economic growth, Janet Yellen, President Barack Obama's pick for next chair of the U.S. central bank, has said.

The monetary policy "is likely to remain highly accommodative long after" one of the economic thresholds for the federal funds rate, including a 6.5-percent unemployment threshold, has been crossed, Yellen said in a letter responding to questions from Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which was obtained by Xinhua Tuesday.

Since the onset of the financial crisis, the Fed has kept its short-term interest rate, the federal funds rate, at a historically low level and rolled out three rounds of quantitative easing programs to support economic recovery.

Many top Fed officials believe that a continued highly accommodative policy "over an extended period" will likely be appropriate for achieving and maintaining congressionally mandated objectives of maximum employment and stable prices, Yellen said in the letter after a hearing at the committee last week.

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday to approve Yellen's nomination as the Fed chair, which will move to the full Senate for final approval after clearing the committee. The timing of the full Senate vote has not been decided.

As the Fed's vice chair since 2010, Yellen is the main architect and supporter of the Fed's easy monetary policy. She has also championed the Fed's efforts to improve policy communication and transparency.

If confirmed by Senate, she will take the helm after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's term ends at the end of January 2014 as the first woman to lead the U.S. central bank.