Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic predicts summer for lower interest rates

On Friday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Raphael Bostic, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, discussed several topics, including inflation, interest rates and the current state of the U.S. economy. ( Photo credit: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta)

Inflation was better at the end of 2023 than first thought. Friday, revised numbers came out showing inflation had fallen to 2.9% for January, significantly less than the 3.2% originally reported. The Fed’s target is 2%.

The chair of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, Dr. Raphael Bostic, said continued decreases in inflation coupled with continued job growth make it likely the Fed will cut interest rates this year.

In an interview with WABE, Bostic said the first of those cuts would likely come in June or July. He said he’s not sure yet how big of a cut will be prudent.

“I think it’s really hard to anticipate that at this stage because we’ll have so much more information at that time. My guess is right now that we’ll move relatively incrementally. But again, that depends on the environment that we see,” said Bostic.

Christopher Alston contributed to this report.