Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that the central bank is prepared to provide additional stimulus if the current economic lull persists.

Delivering his twice-a-year economic report to Congress, Bernanke laid out three options the central bank would consider. One possibility, he said, was another round of Treasury bond buying. That would make the third such effort since 2009.

Bernanke indicated that the Fed would only take such actions if economic conditions worsened and deflation re-emerged as a threat. Deflation is a destabilizing period of falling prices.

He also said the Fed was nimble enough to respond if the opposite happened. He said the Fed was ready to raise interest rates that have been held at record lows for nearly three years, should the central bank fear a greater risk of inflation.

"We have to keep all options on the table," Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee on the first of two days of Capitol Hill testimony. "If we get to the point where the recovery is faltering" and inflation is dropping toward zero, then the central bank would consider the additional stimulus options, he said.

Stocks jumped after Bernanke signaled the Fed's willingness to take additional steps boost the sluggish economy. The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 142 points in midday trading. Broader indexes also increased.

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