Central bankers and economists are attending a meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming this week, where Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, expressed optimism today about the return to growth in the near term for the United States and the rest of the world. Bernanke was joined by world central bankers, who also expressed confidence that the worst of the financial crisis was over.

The next big task facing these central bankers will be how to unwind the vast emergency measures that were put in place to fight the crisis. After the anxiety and tension that permeated their retreat one year ago the mood of relief and cautious confidence was almost palpable.

Housing news provided an additional lift, as the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes jumped 7.2 per cent in July. Bernanke did temper the mood by warning that the economic recovery was very likely to be slow and arduous, and that unemployment would remain high for another year. A growing number of economists and some Fed officials say that the shift to tighter monetary policies and higher interest rates will have to be much more abrupt than normal to prevent inflation in two or three years.

Mr. Bernanke did caution that strains persist in many financial markets across the globe, and he acknowledged that the banking system’s problems were far from over. This was echoed by Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, who said “We still have a lot of work to do,” adding that “it would be a catastrophe if governments failed to heed the lessons of the crisis and financial regulation.”