WASHINGTON Third quarter U.S. economic growth at an annualized 4.9% rate was a "blowout" performance that warrants watching as the U.S. Federal Reserve considers its next policy moves, Fed Gov. Christopher Waller said on Tuesday.

"This was an outstanding quarter...this big blowout number," Waller told an economic data seminar at the St. Louis Federal Reserve. While his remarks did not include a policy recommendation, he noted that in looking at the components of U.S. output, "everything was booming. So this is something we are keeping a very close eye on when we think about policy going forward."

(Reporting by Howard Schneider)