Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says worries are overblown that the Fed's plan to aid the economy could unleash inflation.
Bernanke's comments come hours after the Fed announced Wednesday that it will buy $600 billion worth of government bonds in a bold bid to make loans cheaper, spur spending and invigorate the economy.
Critics, including some Fed officials, fear that all the money being injected into the economy could ignite inflation or speculative bubbles in the prices of bonds or commodities. Bernanke says inflation fears are "overstated." He says a larger $1.7 trillion program launched during the financial crisis didn't result in higher inflation.
Bernanke reveals his thoughts in an opinion piece scheduled to be published Thursday in the Washington Post.
