On Friday, Eastern Time, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic hinted that while he could support the two recent rate cuts, he was unsure whether there would be another cut next month. He hopes to use the latest data as guidance to decide what the appropriate policy should be.
"I've been able to support the first two rate cuts, and we'll see what happens with the next one... I hope this information will guide me to what I think the appropriate policy should be," Bostic said at an event in Seattle.
Currently, Federal Reserve officials are deadlocked on whether to cut interest rates next month. So far this year, the Fed has lowered its benchmark interest rate by a total of 0.5 percentage points.
Based on the pricing of futures contracts, investors now believe there is a close to a 50% chance that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its meeting on December 9-10.
Bostic believes the Federal Reserve is currently in a challenging environment, describing it as one where "we have a dual mandate, and on both sides, we are not moving in the direction that will get us to our goals."
He described the Fed's dual mandate as keeping inflation low and stable while ensuring a continued strong job market.
Earlier this week, Bostic also stated that he believes current inflation remains a more apparent and pressing risk to the U.S. economy.
On Wednesday, 59-year-old Bostic announced that he will retire from the Federal Reserve after his term expires on February 28. Previously, Bostic had consistently held hawkish views on monetary policy, never dissenting from FOMC interest rate decisions, but recently expressing concern about inflationary pressures in the United States.
(Article source: CLS)
