Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bankis likely to rely more on public communications as a policy tool asit seeks to provide clarity about the likely future path ofinterest rates.

“The FOMC continues to explore ways to further increasetransparency about its forecasts and policy plans,” Bernanke saidtoday in a speech in Boston. “Forward guidance and other forms ofcommunication about policy can be valuable even when the zero lowerbound is not relevant, and I expect to see increasing use of suchtools in the future.”

Bernanke and his colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committeehave approved untested policy tools at their last two meetings tospur a recovery that has left the unemployment rate stuck near 9percent or higher for 30 consecutive months. The central bank inAugust pledged to hold interest rates near zero until mid-2013, andin September the Fed announced it will swap $400 billion ofshort-term debt for longer-term securities in a bid to lowerinterest rates.