Greenspan Says Market `Crisis' May Extend Into 2009 (Nasreen Seria and Scott Lanman)

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June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said financial market turmoil may continue into next year, though Fed efforts in March to revive credit have reduced the instability.

``Things do at this particular stage look a little better,'' Greenspan said via satellite today to a conference in Johannesburg. Still, ``this crisis I fear is going to be with us for a while,'' either for a ``good number of months or into next year,'' he said.

Greenspan's successor, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, today convenes a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, which economists expect will leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2 percent after seven cuts since September. Fed officials are trying to revive economic growth as inflationary pressure rises because of surging commodity prices.

``Data suggests we are on the brink'' of a recession in the U.S., Greenspan said. The next year will be ``a very sluggish period,'' with a ``highly volatile oil market.''