New York, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Efforts taken by the U.S. government to stabilize financial markets and free current credit crunch probably won't lead to a prompt economic rebound, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Wednesday.

    "Stabilization of the financial markets is a critical first step, but even if they stabilize as we hope they will, broader economic recovery will not happen right away," Bernanke said in prepared remarks to the Economic Club of New York.

    "The housing market continues to be a primary source of weakness in the real economy as well as in the financial markets, and we have seen marked slowdowns in consumer spending, business investment and the labor market," Bernanke said. "Credit markets will take some time to unfreeze."

    Benanke said monetary policy alone cannot always resolve problem, and the Fed will continue to use all the tools at disposal to improve market functioning and liquidity. Crisis will end as trust is restored, he said.

    "Ultimately, the trajectory of economic activity beyond the next few quarters will depend greatly on the extent to which financial and credit markets return to more normal functioning," Bernanke said.

    In his speech, Bernanke declined to give a clue about the Fed's next move on interest rates.