Fed's Kocherlakota won't participate in December meeting

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's most dovish policymaker will not participate in the U.S. central bank's December meeting, where policymakers have said they will consider their first rate hike since 2006.

"I’m recusing myself from participating in the December FOMC meeting," Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota, who does not have a vote this year on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), said in an emailed statement.

Kocherlakota has lobbied colleagues for more monetary policy easing just as most believe the economy is ready to leave behind a seven-year stint at near-zero interest rates.

The bank's first vice president, Jim Lyon, will participate instead of Kocherlakota, who is leaving the bank to return to academia at the end of the year. The bank named his replacement, former U.S. Treasury official Neel Kashkari, on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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