By Michael S. Derby And Jon Hilsenrath 

NEW YORK--Ben Bernanke said Wednesday he believes it will take a few months to gauge how much international events are affecting an otherwise growing U.S. economy, setting up central bankers or a difficult decision on short-term interest rate increases.

When Fed officials decided not to raise their short-term interest rate target off near-zero levels last month--out of caution over uncertain global events and unsettled markets--"the decision they took was reasonable," the former Fed chairman said.

He added that as he now sees it, "we have a pretty good domestic expansion" that will likely withstand the "drag" now being generated by the troubles seen in emerging markets. But at the same time, it is a period of "uncertainty" and it could take "a few months" to know how things play out.

Mr. Bernanke acknowledged there are clear cases to be made when it comes to both holding rates steady and raising them. The decision now facing Fed officials is "a tough one, absolutely," he said. But he added "it's not something completely out of the realm of what the Fed often has to deal with."

Mr. Bernanke spoke with The Wall Street Journal in conjunction with the release of his book "The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis And Its Aftermath." The book details Mr. Bernanke's leadership of the Fed for 2006 to 2014, spanning the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression.

Under Mr. Bernanke's reign, the Fed mounted an unprecedented campaign of aggressive stimulus through both conventional and unconventional channels. The Fed also drew criticism for its involvement in bailouts of major financial institutions. His book is in part a defense of those actions.

Write to Michael S. Derby at michael.derby@wsj.com and Jon Hilsenrath at jon.hilsenrath@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 07, 2015 10:54 ET (14:54 GMT)