Meanwhile, both Bernanke and Lockhart have weighed in on the importance of monitoring the potentially self-fulfilling expectations of consumers as regards increase in prices.

According to Lockhart, the shock of the recession had made consumers a lot more cautious about their spending and while this was a negative for short-term economic growth, the pattern would prove healthy over the long-run. It would help to address international imbalances characterised by high savings overseas and excess spending at home.

"Consumer spending has been growing more slowly relative to income than it did before the recession," Lockhart told an audience of business executives at the Palm Beach Strategic Forum. "I expect that this more measured consumption behavior is likely to persist."