US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday that while Asian economies appear to be leading the global economic recovery, they still need to encourage more consumption to accomodate for increased US savings rates, Dow Jones reported. Speaking at an Asia economics forum in Santa Barbara, Bernanke said that the Asian region expanded at 9% in the third quarter, but said that this growth has not been produced by a genuine movement away from a dependence on exports. Bernanke also said that greater exchange rate flexibility would help mitigate asset bubbles forming in Asia. China has steadfastly rejected suggestions that the US-China trade imbalance, or the renminbi’s exchange rate controls, played a role in the global financial crisis, blaming it largely on a lack of supervision, and claim that reorienting its economy away from exports will take time.