Fed’s Bostic: Not a surprise if inflation takes longer to reach 2%

Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic hit newswires on Thursday cautioning that the inflation outlook may not ease as quickly as market participants continue to hope for.

Key highlights

It would not surprise me if it took longer to get to 2% inflation in the US than elsewhere.

There is considerable upward pressure on prices, we’re not past the worry point.

We may need to be more patient to avoid heating the economy.

We are not in danger of falling into a more contractionary environment.

Job growth has been robust, which gives me comfort in staying at more restrictive levels.

Low-cost debt makes people less sensitive to rate hikes.

Households and homeowners have locked in low rates, this limits the sensitivity of the economy to Fed policy rate hikes.

The post-pandemic economy may be less sensitive to rates.

The couple of inflation numbers suggest it’s going back to 2%, but going slow.