Atlanta Fed President sends rate cut message

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said the U.S. central bank could start cutting interest rates in the “third quarter” of 2024 if inflation slows as expected, backing away from expectations of an imminent move but outlining a negotiating process that could gain momentum over the next period. Bostic said he expects inflation as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index to finish 2024 around 2.4%, enough progress toward the Fed’s 2% goal to warrant two quarter-point rate cuts in the second half. “I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon,” Bostic said in the interview; policymakers still need “a few months” to gather enough data and confidence that inflation will continue to fall before moving away from the policy rate.