MNI BRIEF: Fed's Bostic Says Rates Should Stay Where They Are
MNI (WASHINGTON) - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said Wednesday monetary policy should stay restrictive to bring inflation back to target.
"We need to stay where we are and let's see where the world is," he told a Urban Land Institute conference. Monetary policy is restrictive and "mildly" causing the economy to slow in order to bring inflation back to 2%, he said. (See: MNI: Fed In Holding Pattern As Inflation To Stay High-Ex-Staff)
"Inflation is high and it's higher than I want it to be," he said. "We've seen a lot of progress in terms of inflation getting back down to the targets that we hope for, but it has slowed in the last six months or so," he said, citing services and housing. "Today, my outlook is that inflation will continue back on its path to get to 2%. That's been my outlook for a long time and the data that we've seen has been generally consistent with that."
The Atlanta Fed chief said the last several employment reports suggest hiring is slowing and he noted increased debate over the breakeven hiring rate, which he said could be as low as 75,000 to 100,000 in part because of trends in immigration.