By
Bernanke painted a cautiously optimistic outlook for the US economy, but gave no clear hints the central bank will back away from its loose monetary policy any time soon, despite speculation that it will do so this year.
The comments weighed on the dollar and gave a lift to US Treasuries, a safe-haven asset which often moves in tandem with triple-A rated German debt.
However, traders said Bernanke's stance was surprising only for a small part of the market - those investors who believe the US economy will pick up considerably this year. Therefore, room for a rise in Bunds was limited.
"He was always going to err in that direction," one trader said.
At 0710 GMT, Bund futures were 10 ticks higher at 142.87.