Bostick: If the inflation rate drops faster, interest rates may be cut ahead of schedule

Atlanta Federal Reserve Chairman Bostic stated that if there is "convincing" evidence in the next few months showing inflation falling faster than he expected, he would be open to earlier rate cuts. He had previously said that he expects it would be appropriate for the Fed to lower benchmark interest rates in the second half of this year, but on Thursday he said, "If we continue to see more unexpected downturns in data, I might confidently advocate for normalizing interest rates before the third quarter. But the evidence needs to be convincing." However, Bostic added that overall situation faced by the Fed "requires caution". He said: "Cutting rates too early could trigger a surge in demand and thus put pressure on price increases." “We don't want to disrupt our great progress so far in bringing inflation back on target.” He mentioned global conflicts may once again disrupt supply chains and cause inflation rise.