WASHINGTON -- Continued growth is the "most likely scenario" for the U.S. economy, according to former Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, downplaying concerns that higher interest rates could trigger a recession.

"The U.S. economy has shown a lot of resilience," Bullard, who stepped down as head of the St. Louis Fed in August and is now dean of the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business at Purdue University, said in an interview with Nikkei.