Atlanta Fed Chief Hints At Potential Interest Rate Cut This Year Amid Economic Uncertainties

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic has indicated that a reduction in interest rates by the U.S. central bank is likely this year, though the timing and magnitude of such a move remain unclear.

What Happened: Bostic, in a recent interview with Reuters, stated that despite a first quarter where inflation seemed to hover above the Fed’s 2% target, he still sees room for a rate cut within the year.

He also mentioned that discussions with businesses in his U.S. Southeast Fed district point towards a probable deceleration in wage and job growth. Many companies reportedly feel their ability to control prices is waning following the swift price increases that resulted in 40-year inflation highs in 2022.

Despite April’s weaker-than-anticipated U.S. job growth, Bostic remains optimistic about further progress on inflation throughout the year, potentially setting the stage for the Fed to start easing monetary policy. However, he expects this process to be gradual.

See Also:

Why It Matters: This follows Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s cautious approach to monetary policy, suggesting interest rates may hold steady longer than anticipated.

With inflation expected to return to 2% by late 2025 or early 2026, Bostic’s remarks hint at a careful strategy to prevent a sharp increase in unemployment. This comes as the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures price index, rose at a 2.7% annual rate in March. Furthermore, investment strategist Ed Yardeni warned that the Fed’s potential monetary easing through interest rate cuts could trigger a surge in the stock market.

Read Next: Pro-Bitcoin President Javier Milei’s Argentina Introduces 10,000-Peso Notes As It Combats Hyperinflation, Currency Collapse


Engineered by Benzinga Neuro, Edited by Pooja Rajkumari


The GPT-4-based Benzinga Neuro content generation system exploits the extensive Benzinga Ecosystem, including native data, APIs, and more to create comprehensive and timely stories for you. Learn more.


Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: Macro Economic EventsNewsEconomicsGeneralAtlanta Federal ReserveFed Rate CutsPooja RajkumariRaphael BosticStories That Matter
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!