Bernanke reiterated Thursday evening that any interest rate hike would have to come on the heels of substantial evidence of economic recovery.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Friday that this is not an appropriate time to exit stimulus measures as it would be premature to think that the crisis is over and conquered in a sustainable manner.
In economic news, Germany's consumer price index or CPI fell 0.3% year-on-year in September after posting zero growth in August, the Federal Statistical Office confirmed Friday. On a monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.4%, the first fall in four months.
The euro backed off of a two-week high against the dollar, moving below 1.4700. The European currency had hit as high as 1.4716 earlier in the week.
A Commerce Department report showed that the trade deficit narrowed to $30.7 billion in August from a revised $31.9 billion in July. Economists had been expecting the deficit to widen to $33.0 billion compared to the $32.0 billion originally reported for the previous month.
The euro challenged a 12-day high against the British pound. The European currency reached as high as 0.9269, after hitting 0.9275 earlier in the week. If the euro reaches above 0.9300, it will reach a 6 1/2-month high.
According to a report released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics, UK output prices rose 0.4% in September from the previous year, in contrast to a 0.3% fall in August and an expected 0.1% decline. Also, this was the highest annual rate since April.
The euro climbed to a two-week high against the Japanese yen, rising as high as 132.19. The European currency has been trending higher for about two days.
Elsewhere on the economic front in the Eurozone, the trade surplus decreased to EUR 8.1 billion in August from July's EUR 14.1 billion, a report from the Federal Statistical Office showed. This was also smaller than the expected surplus of EUR 12 billion and last year's EUR 10.8 billion.
Manufacturing output grew 1.9% month-on-month in August after a revised increase of 0.8% in July. Economists had forecast a 0.6% rise in output. Production has been growing since May 2009.
Germany's Federal Statistical Office announced that the total number of insolvencies increased 7.6% year-on-year to 15,187 in July.
A report by Italy' s statistical office ISTAT said industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 7% on a monthly basis in August, faster than a revised 2.4% growth in the previous month. Economists expected a 1.5% rise. This was the second consecutive monthly rise in output.
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