Economic recovery will be 'a slow one' and activity has weakened as virus cases picked up, Fed President Mester says

• The Cleveland Fed President told CNBC that the economic recovery will be a "slow one."
• Loretta Mester cited the Fed's high-frequency data, which showed economic activity slowing as virus cases picked up in June.
• "I think accommodative monetary policy is going to be very important throughout this recovery. And I do believe that fiscal policy is going to need to be at the table too in order to support the economy going forward," she added.

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Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester told CNBC on Friday that the economic recovery will be "a slow one" and the Fed will need to continue to be accommodative throughout the recovery.

"I think right now we're in the reopening phase and some of those growth rates are going to look really good in the third quarter. But I do think that there's more pain out there that we're going to have to support the economy through," she said.

Mester added that the Fed's high-frequency data showed economic activity tempered when coronavirus cases began to pick up at the end of June. The Fed president said the recovery will have "fits and starts" that are contingent on virus cases.

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A combination of additional policy from both the Fed and the federal government will be necessary to sustain the recovery, she said.

"What that looks like, we're going to have to take our time to evaluate that over time, but I think accommodative monetary policy is going to be very important throughout this recovery. And I do believe that fiscal policy is going to need to be at the table too in order to support the economy going forward," Mester said.

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