Atlanta Fed's Lockhart backs inflation target (by Steve Goldstein)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart threw his support behind an explicit inflation target, which he said could improve communication, which he says has been hurt by the debate over core inflation, "which can confuse and frustrate the public." He'd like an inflation goal targeted to headline inflation, over a "realistic timeframe," but one that allows for short-run deviations. Lockhart said he doesn't believe the headline inflation number of the past six months is really indicative of the underlying trend inflation rate. An inflation target, he said, would not produce "much" change in how the Fed conducts policy or be in conflict with the Fed's mandate to support employment. Lockhart becomes a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee in 2012.