Ben Bernanke struck a downbeat tone on the health of the US economy – in spite of an upward revision of growth in the fourth quarter of 2011 – leaving it unclear whether the Federal Reserve would further ease monetary policy.

In testimony to Congress yesterday, the Fed chairman said that the labour market was doing better, but the fundamentals supporting consumer spending “continue to be weak”.

Mr Bernanke’s cautious comments came as the Bureau of Economic Analysis revised up its growth estimate for the fourth quarter of 2011 from an annualised rate of 2.8 per cent to 3 per cent. Most of that growth came from an inventory build-up, with growth in final sales to domestic purchasers, a crucial measure of demand in the economy, revised up only from 0.9 per cent to 1.1 per cent.