Bostic Eyes Longer "Temporary" Inflation Spike, But Also 7.5M Job Shortfall

Atlanta Fed Pres Bostic makes his first public comments since the June FOMC, and he sounds - like the Committee as a whole - increasingly concerned over inflation pressures persisting for longer than previously expected. But perhaps more closely aligned w the doves on the employment shortfall.

• Asked by NPR radio if he shared Powell's view that inflation is a short term phenomenon: "I do share the Chair's view...the elevation of inflation is driven by a couple of factors, some tied to the re-opening... other spikes associated with supply chain constraints...in both cases we expect those to really go away over time...when I talk to businesses, they are saying that it's going to be temporary, but temporary is going to be a little longer than we had expected initially. So rather than being 2-3 months, it may be a 6-9 month factor, and that's something we're going to have to pay attention to to see if that changes how people approach the economy."
• Asked how it would impact Fed policy if it's 6-9 months vs 2-3 months, Bostic: "A couple of things: we monitor very closely what's going on with expectations...and to dive deeper into this to see if there are things policymakers can do to break those [temporary] dynamics and lead to prices returning to normal."
• On employment: "We have to make sure our policies don't pivot in ways that make look like we are declaring victory prematurely...we're still 7.5mn jobs short of where we were pre-pandemic, and that is a benchmark that I think we all need to keep our eye on."
• Asked about whether he was interested in being Fed Chair: "I haven't really thought about that."