The new head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, was formally sworn in to office Wednesday morning in Washington.
Bernanke succeeds Alan Greenspan and is expected to continue his fight to contain inflation.
Bernanke heads the committee that sets the key U.S. interest rate.
Tuesday, on Greenspan's last day as chairman, the committee hiked interest rates one quarter of a percent in an effort to cool the economy and fend off inflation.
Fed officials said they remain concerned about high energy prices and worry that busier factories and low unemployment could raise production costs and increase inflation.
Most analysts expect Bernanke and his colleagues to raise interest rates at least one more time at their next meeting on March 28.