QE3 timeline was clarification, not 'signal to market' -Fed's Dudley

Ben Bernanke was "very clear" last week when the Federal Reserve chairman explained how the U.S. central bank plans to reduce accommodation, and he did not intend to send a "signal to the market," New York Fed President William Dudley said on Thursday.

While the resulting rise in longer-term rates and tighter financial-market conditions can hurt the U.S. economic recovery, Dudley added, incoming economic data are more important as the Fed decides how to adjust its policies.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)