Fed's Mester Says She Favors More Than Three Interest-rate Hikes This Year

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said Friday she would like to see the central bank raise interest rates more than the three quarter-percentage-point moves favored by the majority of her colleagues. In an interview with Fox Business, Mester said she would like to see a steeper path of rate hikes because she expects "a little bit more inflation" than many of her colleagues. Mester said that three hikes this year was a good benchmark forecast at the moment. The Cleveland Fed president said she expects inflation to reach the central bank's goal of 2% within the next two years, sooner than many of her central bank colleagues project. In the interview, Mester said the December jobs report was "decent" and "in line with an economy on a good track." The Labor Department reported the economy added 156,000 new jobs in December and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.7%. Mester is not a voting member of the Fed's policy committee this year.