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.

联邦储备主席Ben Bernanke称，美国经济不景气可能已经结束但是因为失业率居高不下，经济低迷可能还会持续一段时间。

"From a technical perspective, the recession is very likely over," he told a Washington think tank. He said the consensus¹（一致，合意） 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（有限地，在边上） 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 collapse² of US bank Lehman Brothers.

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