it’s ‘time to move’ on rate cuts, but wants to be sure By Reuters

(Reuters) – Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said on Wednesday that with inflation falling further and the unemployment rate rising more than he anticipated, it may be “time to move” on cutting rates , but wants to be sure before withdrawing. that trigger. Bostic said he would like to see confirmation from the monthly jobs report and two inflation reports ahead of the Fed’s Sept. 17-18 meeting that economic trends are continuing.

“I don’t want us to be in a situation where we cut and then have to raise rates again: that would be a very bad outcome,” because it would undermine people’s confidence in the Fed, he said at an event organized by the Stanford Club of Georgia and Stanford Black Alumni Association–Atlanta.

“If I’m going to err on the side, he’s going to wait longer just to make sure we don’t have this up and down.”

The Fed has kept its policy rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range for more than a year to curb high inflation. Last week, Fed Chairman Powell said “the time has come” to cut borrowing costs as price pressures eased considerably and the labor market cooled.

For much of this year, Bostic said he expected the Fed to only need to cut rates once this year, likely in the fourth quarter. In recent weeks, he has signaled his willingness to start earlier.