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Fed's George says it is 'not yet time' to cut interest rates

The Federal Reserve does not need to cut interest rates right now since the economy has not shown major signs of a slowdown, Kansas City Fed President Esther George told Bloomberg Television.

George, who was one of two Fed officials to vote against the July 31 rate cut, said she would be "happy to leave rates" where they are unless the U.S. economy shifts substantially.

"As I look at where the economy is, it's not yet time, I'm not ready to begin to provide more accommodation to the economy without seeing an outlook that suggests the economy is getting weaker here," George said in the interview.

George spoke on the sidelines of the Kansas City Fed's annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the first full day of the conference Aug. 23, and market participants will be looking for clues as to how many more times the Fed may cut interest rates this year.

The central bank cut its benchmark federal funds rate to a target range of 2% to 2.25% in July, and investors expect the Fed to ease policy again at its next meeting on Sept. 17-18.

But the minutes of the Fed's July meeting, released Aug. 21, show that Fed officials were split about the need to cut rates. Several policymakers on the Federal Open Market Committee said they opposed the rate cut, while a couple of them backed a more aggressive rate cut than the 25-basis-point move the central bank delivered.