Fed’s Raphael Bostic open to September rate cut, FT reports
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Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic also expressed caution over signs of cooling in the US labour market.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Bengaluru – Atlanta Federal Reserve president Raphael Bostic is open to an interest rate cut in September, he told the Financial Times in an interview published on Aug 15, adding that the US central bank cannot “afford to be late” to ease monetary policy.
“I’m open to something happening in terms of us moving before the fourth quarter,” Mr Bostic told the newspaper.
He is a voting member of the Fed’s rate-setting committee.
Dr Bostic’s comments are a step ahead of his comments earlier this week when he said he wanted to see “a little more data” before he was ready to support lowering interest rates.
US consumer prices rose moderately in July and the annual increase in inflation slowed to below 3 per cent for the first time in nearly 3½ years, data showed on Aug 14, opening the door wider for the Fed to cut rates in September.
Financial markets broadly expect the Fed to cut rates at its Sept 17 to 18 meeting, which would mark its first such move in this policy cycle.
Dr Bostic also expressed caution over signs of cooling in the labour market, urging the central bank to be conscious of its mandate of maintaining full employment and saying that he is open to the idea of cutting rates by increments of half a point, not just a quarter point, if the labour market weakens faster than expected. REUTERS
