Fed’s Bostic: Should not move rates “too dramatically”

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic participates in a panel discussion at the American Economic Association/Allied Social Science Association (ASSA) 2019 meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., January 4, 2019. REUTERS/Christopher Aluka Berry

TAMPA, Fla. July 15 (Reuters) – Moving interest rates “too dramatically” could undermine the positive trends still seen in the economy and add to the already large amount of uncertainty, Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said on Friday.

Bostic did not say explicitly whether he supported another 75 basis point increase at the next Fed meeting, versus a larger hike. However, he told a Tampa Bay Business Journal forum the central bank wants policy tightening to be “orderly…Moving too dramatically can undermine a lot of those things that are working well.”

Following the release of data showing consumer prices rose more than 9% annually as of June, Bostic said a 100 basis point move might need to be considered at the Fed meeting later this month.

Reporting by Howard Schneider
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

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