Obama team denies report Summers is Fed pick

• Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke%27s term ends Jan. 31%2C 2014
• Japanese report did not name sources for story
• Economists endorsed Fed Vice Chair Yellen

The White House is disputing a Japanese newspaper's report that former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers will be named the next chairman of the Federal Reserve by President Obama.

The Nikkei newspaper, which did not publicly name its sourcing for its story, said Obama was "set to" name Summers to the position, possibly as early as next week.

White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said in a tweet Friday that "the latest rumors this morning in the Japanese press aren't true" and that Obama "has not yet made a decision on Fed Chair."

On Tuesday, more than 350 economists signed a letter to Obama calling on him to nominate Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen to be the Fed's next chairman.

Obama is expected to announce his nomination as early as this month. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's term ends Jan. 31, 2014.