Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Monday at an event in Nashville he saw no need the Fed to raise interest rates in near term. "Recent inflation data have surprised to the downside and call into question the idea that U.S. inflation is reliably returning toward target," Bullard said.

Given the weak inflation data and the fact the U.S. economy continues to be in a low growth, "The current level of the policy rate is likely to remain appropriate over the near term," he added.

Mr. Bullard also noted he did not think that tighter labor market would move inflation up much. "Even if the U.S. unemployment rate declines substantially further," he said, "the effects on U.S. inflation are likely to be small".

According to him, weak global commodity prices had probably contributed to unexpectedly low inflation. "Crude oil prices, in particular, tend to influence the headline inflation rate," he noted.