Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Oct. 15, made a case for the central bank to take further action to bolster growth, citing the risks of prolonged high unemployment and a U.S. economy slipping into a deflationary spiral, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In a much-anticipated speech in Boston, Bernanke did not spell out details of how and when the Fed would take action, according to the report. However, Bernanke mentioned a program of buying additional assets, namely government bonds, in an effort to drive down long-term interest rates and stimulate economic growth as the first option, according to the report.

The central bank is widely expected to announce such a program, known as quantitative easing, at the conclusion of its next policymakers’ meeting on Nov. 2 and 3, the LA Times report.