Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic indicated that the Federal Reserve may opt to keep interest rates unchanged at its upcoming monetary policy meeting in November.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Bostic pointed to fluctuations in September’s employment figures and the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data as reasons to hold rates steady, said, “I think we have the ability to be patient and wait and let things play out a little longer…. There are elements of today’s report which I think validate that view.”
Depending on the economic outlook for the United States, he expressed support for both a 0.25% cut and a hold on interest rates.
Bostic explained that his support for a 0.5% cut during last month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting was due to the prolonged maintenance of the highest interest rates in 20 years.
As a voting member of the FOMC, Bostic indicated that he projected another 0.25% cut within the year, suggesting that he would likely support maintaining the rates at least once.
The Federal Reserve has two remaining FOMC meetings scheduled for November and December this year.
