Fed's Lockhart says Fed statement likely to change in October as bond-buying ends

JACKSON Miss (Reuters) - Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart said on Thursday that the Fed's main policy statement will almost certainly shift in October as its bond-buying program winds down.

The current statement says the Fed will wait "a considerable time" after the end of its bond-buying program before raising interest rates. The end of the bond-buying program means that phrase will have to change, Lockhart said, though the committee may just drop the reference to the asset purchases and keep the rest of the language.

With the softening economy, Lockhart, for one, said he thinks "considerable time" should remain. He does not currently vote on the Fed's rate committee but will do so next year.

"Some adjustment will come because of the reference to the end of asset purchases. That does not mean necessarily that the use of the phrase considerable time will be dropped," Lockhart said. "Whether we like it or not any change in language will be viewed as a signal. As policymakers the question I have to evaluate is do I now want to make that signal?... I would prefer to see a little more time pass to confirm that we are on the path that we think we are on and that we are going to start normalization with our statutory objectives in sight.?

He also said that global trends may keep that dollar at its current high levels, particularly the continued weakness in Europe.

From the rise in the dollar alone "it is hard to disentangle whether we are getting a vote of confidence or whether the rest of the world is showing more trouble or weakness," he said.

(Reporting By Howard Schneider; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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