Ben Bernanke, US Federal Reserve Chairman, said, "With the outlook exceptionally uncertain fiscal package by the Congress at this juncture seems appropriate."

This is the first time the central bank chairman has explicitly endorsed a second stimulus package.

The government sent out about 100-billion US dollars in tax rebate checks over the summer to jump-start the economy, but consumer spending has continued to struggle. Retail sales figures fell for three consecutive months through September.

US stocks jumped after Bernanke's comments, though the Dow Jones lost ground later in the day.

Bernake also told Congress it should consider measures to improve access to credit. He said there were some encouraging signs that steps taken so far to unfreeze credit markets were helping.

Ben Bernanke, US Federal Reserve Chairman, said, "I am confident that these initiative credit to household and firms."

The Federal Reserve has lowered its benchmark interest rate by 3.75 percentage points over the past 13 months, down to 1.5 percent as financial turmoil takes an increasingly heavy toll on the broader economy.

Economists and investors expect interest rates to be lowered once again when the Fed meets in late October.

(CCTV October 22, 2008)