New York, Feb. 8 -- Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said that if the U.S. economy performs as she expects it could open the door to rate cuts, but she's not ready yet to offer any timing for easier policy amid ongoing inflation uncertainty.

"Monetary policy is in a good place from which to assess and respond" to risks to the outlook, Mester said in a speech to a gathering of the Ohio Bankers League in Columbus, Ohio, reports Reuters.

"The current strength in labor market conditions and the strong spending data give us the opportunity to keep the nominal funds rate at its current level while we gather more evidence that inflation truly is on a sustainable and timely path back to 2%," she said.

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