The Federal Reserve's move to rise its discount rate does not signal an imminent rise in the fed funds rate and has nothing to do with Friday's inflation figure, Laurence Meyer, former Fed governor, told CNBC Friday.
On Feb. 10, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in his testimony to Congress that the discount rate was likely to be raised.
"We called (the decision) about two weeks earlier, before the chairman's testimony," Meyer said.
But others in the markets were taken by surprise, and stock markets in Asia and Europe fell in response.
Some market participants and analysts speculated that the central bank may have reacted to inflation figures, due to be released at 8:30 am New York time, but which Bernanke is said to receive beforehand.