Bernanke killed every investor’s hope that the Federal Reserve Bank would recently raise interest rate, stating that when the time comes, the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates to keep inflation under control that time could be far away.

Bernanke said, with the U.S. economy still very fragile and unemployment so high, inflation isn’t a pressing problem. Getting the economy back on its feet is the top priority.

“We have come a long way from the darkest period of the crisis, but we have some distance yet to go,” Bernanke said, according to the text of his remarks released in Washington.

The most frequently asked question of the Fed right now is: Will the Fed let inflation get out of hand? “The answer is no,” Bernanke said. “The Fed is committed to keeping inflation low and will be able to do so.

Economists said there were few surprises in Bernanke’s remarks. “His speech does not change our expectations that the Fed will stay on hold until early 2011,” wrote Michael Hanson, an economist for Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch.

There’s more chatter among financial market participants about the Fed’s first rate hike, but most members of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee have said it’s too early in the recovery to consider higher interest rates.

However, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said last week that he believed the Fed should raise rates sooner rather than later, citing the danger that inflation would become entrenched before the Fed can withdraw the stimulus.

Bernanke’s remarks added no new. The economy is recovering, but is not growing fast enough to create many new jobs. Financial conditions have improved, but small businesses and households are still having a hard time getting credit. With jobs growing only slowly, consumer spending won’t accelerate, and neither will consumer inflation.

Bernanke’s remarks come just over a week before the Federal Open Market Committee gathers in Washington for a two-day meeting.