Former US Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke. Photo: Reuters

The outlook for the US economy is positive compared to the rest of the industrial world and there are good reasons to think it will keep growing at a rate of around 3 per cent this year, former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday.

Bernanke, making his first public speech since he left office in January, was addressing a financial conference in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The housing sector, which was a big part of the US slowdown, shows signs of recovering and the construction industry will expand, he said.

However, he also said the crisis was not yet over in the US.

“The first thing the US learnt is the US is not invulnerable to crisis,” he said.