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Fed's Bostic: soft landing hardly assured, expects two quarter-point cuts in 2024

Atlanta Federal Reserve (Fed) President Raphael Bostic hit newswires on Monday after his quarterly essay was released.

Key highlights

  • Soft landing is hardy assured given uncertainty.
  • Does not anticipate back-to-back rate cuts when they begin.
  • Fed's Bostic still expects two 25-basis point rate cuts in 2024.
  • Needs to see more progress and gain confidence on disinflation before voting to reduce policy rates.
  • Inflation is on track to return to 2% target, but still too early to claim victory.
  • January's hiring was a fresh sign of continued US labor strength.
  • Inflation is still widespread, with more than the usual share of items increasing above 5% with trimmed mean stuck at 2.6%.
  • Fed still has time to be sure inflation returns to target.
  • Fed's Bostic does not see degradation of the US labor market.
  • Risks to inflation and employment have balanced out.
  • Pent-up exuberance in US economy remains an inflation risk.
  • Businesses are not distressed and are ready to invest.
  • Services inflation remains higher, may take longer for adjustments to occur.
  • Dopes not have a base case for when it might be appropriate to reduce pace of balance sheet decline

Author

Joshua Gibson

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

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