Kocherlakota: Fed should complete current bond buys

ST. CLOUD, Minnesota (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank should complete its $600 billion bond-buying program, but should only extend it if inflation continues to fall, a top Fed official said on Thursday.

"You never say never, but I don't see the contingency right now that we would need to stop the LSAP," Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota said after a speech at St. Cloud State University, referring to the bond-buying program by its acronym, large-scale asset purchases.

Kocherlakota said he supported the bond-buying program because he was worried about falling inflation, and if that condition persists, the Fed should consider extending the program.

(Reporting by Ann Saphir)