White House adviser Hassett hails lower-than-expected inflation data

WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett welcomed the consumer price index report on Thursday, saying the U.S. economy was showing high growth and lower inflation.

"I'm not saying we're going to declare victory yet on the price problem, but this is just an astonishingly good CPI report," he said in an interview with Fox Business Network.

Hassett said wages were growing faster than prices, American taxpayers would see big tax refunds next year and the government would help bring mortgage rates down.

"There's lots of room for the Fed to cut rates," he said.

A favorite to replace Jerome Powell as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, Hassett also said the U.S. central bank should be more transparent in the future.

"I think that the Fed needs to be 100% more transparent than it's been ... whoever's at the Fed needs to, like, just put all their cards on the table so we can understand what's really going on at that institution."

In an prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday, President Donald Trump pledged economic conditions would improve in the coming year, citing his tax policies, tariffs and plans to replace Powell.

Trump was expected to announce his choice to succeed Powell by early next year. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Katharine Jackson)