Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie said the Federal Reserve should raise interest rates when the U.S. central bank meets this week.

New Jersey Governor Christie, in the chasing pack of contenders for the Republican nomination for the 2016 election, said the Fed has removed a tool to combat future possible recessions by keeping rates low for so long.

"They've been playing politics with it," Christie said at a campaign stop at Merrimack in New Hampshire. "I would hope they would get above it and do what makes fiscal sense for our country."

The Fed meets this week and is expected to increase rates for the first time in a decade based on positive economic growth indicators.