Fed’s Bostic Says US Interest Rates Are High Enough

U.S. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic speaks to reporters at the National Association of Business Economics' annual policy meeting in Washington on March 21, 2022. Ann Saphir/Reuters

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic laid out a case on Thursday against any further U.S. interest rate hikes, saying monetary policy is already tight enough to bring inflation back down to 2 percent over a “reasonable” period.

“I feel policy is appropriately restrictive,” Mr. Bostic said in remarks prepared for delivery to the South African Reserve Bank Biennial Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. “We should be cautious and patient and let the restrictive policy continue to influence the economy, lest we risk tightening too much and inflicting unnecessary economic pain.”