Bullard: Fed risks putting itself in a "box" by targeting unemployment

The U.S. central bank risks limiting its policy flexibility by explicitly tying its actions to a numerical unemployment target, a senior Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.

"I think this threshold thing will put the committee in more of a box," said St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, voicing disagreement with fellow policymakers, referring to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

Minutes of the FOMC's September meeting showed that many committee members favor a commitment to lower the jobless rate beneath a certain level before raising interest rates, in order to better communicate its determination to bolster U.S. growth.

(Reporting By Alister Bull; Editing by Paul Simao)