The White House announced Friday that no final decisions have been made regarding the new head of the Federal Reserve and that no announcements of President Barack Obama's choice will likely be made until the fall.

As one of the most vital economic decisions of his term, President Obama's decision on the matter will be one with global consequences. The Federal Reserve head directs U.S. monetary policy and is responsible for making decisions that determines the fate of the world's largest economy and consequently, other economies around the globe.

Former Princeton professor and current chairman Ben Bernanke has been said to step down after January 31, when his second four-year term as the U.S. central bank's chairman ends.

Meanwhile speculation over the next leader of the Federal Reserve continued to rise, with current Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen and previous Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers as top contenders. There was reason to believe that Obama was leaning towards Summers over the consensus leader Yellen, a source close to the matter shared earlier this week.

Talk of Summers gettting the position, in line with reports of former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and other Democratic party officials campaigning to get him the nod, prompted a barrage of criticism and arose support for Yellen.