Bullard says 'tough' for Fed to reverse course and hike rates in October

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It will be difficult for the Federal Reserve to switch gears after only one month of additional data and raise rates at its October meeting, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Tuesday.

Bullard supports a rate hike and opposed the decision to hold off in September, but said the economic data since released is unlikely to be enough to push the Fed toward a hike when it meets again in two weeks.

"It is very tough for the committee to make a big decision and then change it after only one meeting," Bullard said. "Roughly speaking the data has not been that different from what would have been expected, and the jobs report was weaker."

(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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