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• Latest job report ‘reaffirms that the economy is strong and there is still a lot of momentum in the labor market, and that is a good thing,’ Bostic said
Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic on Friday said he “fully” supports another three-quarter of a percentage point interest rate hike at the US Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting later this month.
“We can move by 75 basis points at the next meeting and not see a lot of protracted damage to the economy,” Bostic said in an interview with CNBC.
Last month, the Fed raised its short-term benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points, the biggest rate hike since 1994, throwing the rate between a range of 1.5% and 1.75%.
Two days after the rate hike, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the central bank is committed to bringing down inflation, pointing out it is necessary for the global financial system.
Bostic said the report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, published earlier on Friday showing US job growth increased more than expected and the unemployment rate remained at 3.6% in June, “reaffirms that the economy is strong and there is still a lot of momentum in the labor market, and that is a good thing.”
Still, the central bank’s most dovish policymakers said, the data shows some early signs of a slowing economy.
“They are really just minor signs, and ...what I’m going to be looking for over the next several months is evidence that that slowing is becoming much more sustained and much more significant across the board,” Bostic told CNBC.
Picture Credit: CNBC
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