Retiring Federal Reserve centrist wanted to reduce quantitative easing

A Federal Reserve official known for her centrist views said on Tuesday she wanted to reduce the U.S. central bank’s asset purchases last month, adding her voice to the Fed’s so-called policy hawks who have spoken out against the shock decision to leave monetary policy unchanged. The admission by Sandra Pianalto, right, who is retiring as president of the Cleveland Fed ear- ly next year, may come as a surprise given her long-standing support of chairman Ben Bernanke’s concerted effort to boost the U.S. economy in the wake of the Great Recession. “For me the improvement in labour markets seemed substantial enough to support a scaling back of the asset purchase program at last month’s [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting,” she said.