US Federal Reserve has not painted itself into a corner, Mester says

The Federal Open Market Committee is not boxed into hiking rates at its 15-16 December policy meeting, a top Fed official said.

In remarks to CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ on Thursday, Loreta Mester, the President of the regional Fed bank of Cleveland, explained that the Fed was trying to be as transparent as possible about a possible move.

She rebutted claims that the Fed was ‘behind the curve’.

The regional Fed president added that in her opinion the economy was indeed strong enough to absorb a modest policy move.

Mester was set to become a voting member of the FOMC in 2016.