Federal Reserve

Markets too focused on Fed: Kashkari

Kashkari: Focus on more than just the Fed
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Kashkari: Focus on more than just the Fed

The markets are too focused on the Federal Reserve's every move and should pay more attention to other economic issues, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said Monday.

"There's a lot of brainpower that's simply going into parsing FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee] statements. I'm suggesting that brainpower could be more productively targeted at other economic issues to help us move the country forward," he said in an interview with CNBC's "Closing Bell."

Wall Street has been watching the central bank's every move trying to determine when the next interest rate hike will occur. The Fed's next meeting is set for mid-June.

Kashkari said whether future generations will be better off will not be determined by when the Fed moves. Instead, it's determined by broader macroeconomic policies that the executive branch and Congress set.

"That's really what determines how competitive our workforce is, how competitive we are as an economy. We need to get those other tools moving," he said. "Monetary policy can't do it on its own."

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He believes the Fed is doing whatever it can to get the economy moving and called the current stance of monetary policy appropriate.

"We are coming up short on both inflation and I think there is still slack in the labor market," said Kashkari.

As for whether the central bank will increase rates in June, he would only say the hike will happen "when the data allows."

The most recent indications from Fed officials point to two more interest rate increases this year. However, the financial markets are barely pricing in one more move, and that is not expected until December.

— Reuters contributed to this story.