Fed’s Mester sees rates above 4%, says Powell speech ‘strong’ – BBG TV

(Reuters) – Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester on Friday said she thinks the U.S. central bank needs to lift interest rates above 4% and said she believed Chair Jerome Powell delivered a “strong message” about the Fed’s determination to quash inflation.

“I think we’re going to have to move them up … above 4% and probably need to hold them there next year,” Mester said in an interview on Bloomberg TV from Jackson, Wyoming, following Powell’s speech there.

On Powell’s speech, she said: “I think that was a very strong message, and I am certainly aligned with that.”

“I thought the message was strong and right.”

(Reporting By Dan Burns; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)