When Ben Bernanke took over from Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve, he promised continuity. That was what he delivered yesterday. Mr Bernanke's first open market committee meeting as chairman ended just as Mr Greenspan's last meeting had done, with a quarter-point rate rise and the comment that "some further policy firming may be needed".

Two months on from Mr Greenspan's last meeting, this reaffirmation of the policy stance suggests that a further rise to 5 per cent in May is firmly on the cards, if not quite guaranteed. At that point, the Fed is likely to pause. Yet the reiteration of concerns about energy prices and resource utilisation caution against ruling out the possibility the Fed could go beyond 5 per cent.