BEIJING, Nov. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Federal Reserve Chairman has said that 2013 could be a "very good year" for the US economy if a quick deal to avoid the fiscal cliff is reached.

He called for a credible long-term framework to put the federal budget on a sound path. He warned that running over the $6 hundred billion "cliff" of expiring tax cuts and government spending reductions could derail the US recovery.

The US economy grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the third quarter. Economists expect the final three months of the year will be even weaker. Bernanke reiterated the US central bank’s guidance that it expects to keep benchmark interest rates near zero until at least mid-2015.

However, he offered few clues into how the Fed might tweak its bond-purchase program at the start of next year.

(Source: CNTV.cn)