Fed’s Bostic Says More Data Needed, Rate Cut Likely by Year-End

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he’s looking for “a little more data” before supporting a reduction in interest rates, emphasizing he wants to be sure the U.S. central bank will not have to change course once it begins cutting.

“We want to be absolutely sure,” Bostic said Tuesday in remarks to the Conference of African American Financial Professionals in Atlanta. “It would be really bad if we started cutting rates and then had to turn around and raise them again.”

He reiterated the stance he’s held since March that he’ll likely be ready to cut “by the end of the year,” but acknowledged that he’s encouraged by recent inflation readings.

Bostic’s comments follow weaker-than-expected data on the labor market that has raised worries the U.S. central bank has waited too long to begin cutting rates.

The July jobs report showed hiring slowed markedly and the unemployment rate rose to its highest level in nearly three years. Investors are putting greater than even odds on a half-point cut in September, according to futures markets.

Bostic noted he was “definitely concerned” by the rise in joblessness, but he added much of that increase was due to a larger supply of workers rather than a slump in demand. That is a “good problem to have,” Bostic said.