Obama Team Denies Nikkei’s Report Larry Summers Will Be Named Fed Chairman

The White House has denied a report in the Japanese press that U.S. President Barack Obama is set to name former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers as the next Federal Reserve Chairman as early as next week.

In a post Friday on Twitter, White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said the latest rumors in the Japanese press “aren’t true” and that the president hasn't yet made a decision.

The wording leaves open the possibility that the Nikkei report will come true.

Japan’s Nikkei said on Friday in its original Japanese version, citing unnamed sources, that Obama was “in the final stages” and moving toward naming Summers.

In the English-language version, the newspaper said Obama is “set to” name Summers as early as late next week, after the Fed's rate-setting committee meets on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Tuesday, more than 350 economists signed a letter to Obama urging him to nominate Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen as Ben Bernanke's successor. “Dr. Yellen is superbly qualified," the letter said.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, a key adviser in the White House’s search for the next Fed chief, has met with both Summers and Yellen.