(Reuters) – The Federal Reserve should have promised to keep rates near zero until U.S. unemployment falls below 5.5 percent, as long as inflation and financial stability risks are contained, said the lone dissenter to the Fed’s policy decision this week.

By instead dropping its pledge to keep rates low until the jobless rate reaches a more healthy level, the Fed is sending the wrong message on both inflation and jobs, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota said in remarks released on Friday.

On Wednesday the Fed, in its first policy-setting meeting under Fed Chair Janet Yellen, said it would factor in a wide range of economic measures as it judged the correct timing for raising rates.  Read more