There’s no need for the Federal Reserve to ratchet up interest rates any further as there many signs that the economy is starting to slow, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said Wednesday.
Bostic, one of the more dovish policymakers among central bankers, said a day before that “we’re at a good place” with respect to rates being at a sufficiently restrictive level to bring inflation down to the Fed’s 2% goal.
The Fed would “need to do more,” though, if inflation stalls, Bostic said at the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s ATLeaders lunch.
The Consumer price index, which measures costs across a wide array of goods and services, came in at 3.7% Y/Y in August, down from the pandemic-era inflation peak of 9.1% in June 2022. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, core CPI rose at a 4.3% annual pace last month, still well above the 2% objective.
Earlier on Wednesday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller noted the central bank is in a “position where we can watch and see what’s going on with rates,” adding the rising bond yields are “doing some of the work for us.”