Fed's Goolsbee is on fence about need to cut rates in December

*

Goolsbee undecided on December rate cut amid high inflation

*

Fed Chair Powell warns rate cut not guaranteed in December

*

Goolsbee cautious due to unclear economic data from government shutdown

By Michael S. Derby

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said on Monday he's in no hurry to cut interest rates again with inflation still too far above the central bank's 2% target.

"I'm not decided going into the December meeting" and "my threshold for cutting is a little bit higher than it was at the last two meetings," Goolsbee said in a Yahoo Finance interview. "I am nervous about the inflation side of the ledger, where you've seen inflation above the target for four and a half years, and it's trending the wrong way."

Goolsbee was interviewed after last week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting that saw policymakers cut their interest rate target by a quarter percentage point, to between 3.75% and 4%, as officials sought to offset rising risks to the job market while still keeping interest rates in a position where they'll help lower inflation pressures. He holds a vote this year.

While financial markets still expect the central bank to deliver an interest rate cut at the FOMC meeting in December, Fed Chair Jerome Powell cautioned last week that "a further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion-far from it. Policy is not on a preset course."

In the interview, Goolsbee acknowledged that the job market is showing some signs of weakness but that many key metrics are still pointing to stability, although there's an unwelcome lack of clarity given the government shutdown that's thwarted the release of key economic data.

Goolsbee tied his preferred path for monetary policy to what happens with price pressures. "Rates can come down a fair amount," he said, noting "it would probably be most judicious to have the rates come down with inflation."

The Chicago Fed leader said that his current reading on the economy was not that different from what he thought in September, when officials last offered forecasts for the economy. He cautioned against cutting rates too much given the current lack of clarity on what's happening.

He flagged concerns about "front loading" rate cuts when "we have the data shutdown, we're getting some information about the job market, and we have very little private sector information about inflation. So I think we want to be wary" about lowering the cost of short-term credit.

(Reporting by Michael S. Derby, Editing by Franklin Paul and Andrea Ricci )