Atlanta Fed President Bostic: We Are Not Past the Point of Concern

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said inflation has not passed the point of concern, and that may make the rate cuts later than expected. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Thursday that the Fed may have to wait longer to cut interest rates because, despite slightly slower inflation data in April, there was still upward pressure on prices. “We haven’t passed the point of concern that inflation is returning to our target,” Bostic said during a speech to Stanford University business school students. Meanwhile, Bostic said there were few signs of trouble in the labor market. “Job growth has been strong. That tells me there’s still a lot of energy in the economy and it gives me comfort in staying at a more restrictive level because I don’t think we’re at risk today. We’re going into a tightening environment,” he said. Bostic is a bit more hawkish than some of his colleagues at the Fed, but stronger-than-expected inflation data in the first three months of the year has led most U.S. central bankers to take a similar view.