PHILADELPHIA – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last week said that the U.S. recovery should escalate this year as housing troubles ease and Washington’s fiscal tightening lessens, the Wall Street Journal reports. Additionally, Bernanke said the European debt crisis and tightened lending standards have also diminished.

"The combination of financial healing, greater balance in the housing market, less fiscal restraint, and, of course, continued monetary policy accommodation bodes well for U.S. economic growth in coming quarters," Bernanke said at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association.

Bernanke said the Fed’s decision to reduce its monthly bond purchases "didn't indicate any diminution of its commitment to maintain a highly accommodative monetary policy for as long as needed; rather, it reflected the progress we have made toward our goal of substantial improvement in the labor-market outlook," he said.

Among the reasons for the slow recovery since 2011, Bernanke highlighted tight fiscal policy, adding recent government spending cuts and tax increases have thwarted the Fed’s efforts to encourage spending, investment and hiring.

"With fiscal and monetary policy working in opposite directions, the recovery is weaker than it otherwise would be," Bernanke said.

The Senate voted yesterday to confirm Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen as Bernanke’s successor. Her term begins February 1.