In an interview with CBS, Bostic stated that he is in favor of slowing the rate of increase in interest rates after the December data showing a slowdown in inflation. “This data shows that inflation has moderated and provides room to move more slowly into the restrictive area,” Bostic said.
Following the decline in annual inflation to 6.5 percent in December, Fed officials are expected to slow the rate of interest rate hikes at their meeting on January 31-February 1.
Bostic, who has no voting rights on the Open Market Committee this year, said he would support a 25 basis point rate hike.
After increasing the interest rates by 75 basis points in 4 meetings in a row, the Fed increased the interest rate by 50 basis points in the last meeting to the range of 4.25-4.5 percent. Fed officials had predicted that interest rates would rise above 5 percent this year and stay there for a while.
The expectation for a 25 basis point increase in the markets has also strengthened.
