MNI BRIEF: Fed's Bostic Supported Rate Cut; Sounds Cautious

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said Friday he supported the Fed's interest rate cut this week but suggested little appetite for further easing for the time being. 

"I eventually got behind it," Bostic said of the Fed's decision this week to reduce interest rates by 25 basis points. He noted that he had been saying he previously supported only one rate cut this year. "I think we're in restrictive territory" but "with each step, we get closer and closer to neutral." 

"I've been concerned for a while, that a narrative would would emerge that would suggest that we're on a march to somewhere," Bostic said about Fed easing. He added that "every meeting is live. We're not on a preset course. We're going to let the information guide us, and I'm going to stop there." (See: MNI INTERVIEW: More Fed Cuts Risk Inflation Spike-Weinberg)

"We can't really signal or forget that inflation is a significant problem, and we have to get that back down to our 2% target," he added in Q&A at a Dallas Fed event. Bostic said his contacts are saying that they believe the economy is slowing, while the risk of catastrophic outcomes have receded.