[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/07/21/art.bernanke3.jpg caption="Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is warning Congress that the economic outlook remains 'unusually uncertain.'"]Washington (CNN) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is warning Congress that the economic outlook remains "unusually uncertain," although he says the Fed is planning for the ultimate withdrawal of the substantial funds it has injected into the financial system since the onset of the economic crisis in 2008.

After Bernanke's statement before a Senate committee Wednesday, stocks turned sharply lower, with the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 100 points.

In prepared testimony for the Fed's semiannual report on monetary policy, Bernanke emphasizes more than once that economic conditions are likely to keep its short-term interest rates at "exceptionally low levels ... for an extended period," explaining that inflation is likely to remain low for several years. At the same time, he offered the most extensive look yet at the Fed's plans and options for pulling money out of the system and raising short-term rates, as the economy improves.

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