Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has left the door open for yet another rate cut. In a speech last evening, he said a resurgence in financial strains in recent weeks had dimmed the outlook for the US economy.

Bernanke said volatility in credit markets has “affected” the economy's prospects and policy makers must decide whether the risks between growth and inflation have now shifted. Bernanke said, “The outlook has been importantly affected over the past month by renewed turbulence in financial markets, which has partially reversed the improvement that occurred in September and October. We at Fed will have to remain exceptionally alert and flexible.”

He added that the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will weigh fresh information about hiring, spending and financial markets when it next meets to consider interest rates on December 11.