Washington  - If massive government action to revive the US economy is successful the recession affecting the world's largest economy could begin to turn around this year, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday.

Testifying before the US Senate Banking Committee, the central bank chairman said the government stimulus is essential to break the cycle of adverse feedback that helps to keep the economy down.

"If actions taken by the administration, the Congress and the Federal Reserve are successful in restoring some measure of financial stability - and only if that is the case, in my view - there is a reasonable prospect that the current recession will end in 2009 and that 2010 will be a year of recovery," Bernanke said.

Still, he stressed that the economy will continue to sharply contract this year with downside risks outweighing upside risks and a full recovery likely to take more than two or three years.

Fed economists predict that gross domestic product will decline 0.5 per cent to 1.25 per cent over 2009.

Bernanke indicated that the Federal Reserve was likely to keep interest rates at "exceptionally low levels" in the near future to boost spending. dpa