WASHINGTON, Aug 21 - Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert McTeer said on Thursday he saw U.S. economic growth picking up to "at least" 3-1/2 to 4 percent in the current third quarter. "I think the third quarter has got momentum now, and I think it'll be 3-1/2 to 4 (percent) at least. So it's good news as far as I'm concerned," McTeer, who is not a voting member of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee under this year's rotation, told the CNBC cable television network.
McTeer said given recent upward revisions to data on final sales and retail sales and an unexpectedly narrow June U.S. trade gap, the government is likely to revise up second-quarter gross domestic product to more than 3 percent from an initial reading of 2.4 percent. He added that because of the slack in the economy and swift growth in worker output, it will be "quite a while before inflation becomes a major issue."///