Federal Reserve official Bostic: December rate cut is not a certainty, it all depends on data.

On Friday, Eastern Time, Raphael Bostic, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in the United States, hinted that although he could support the recent two rate cuts, he was not sure whether there would be another rate cut next month. He hopes to use the latest data as a guide to determine what the appropriate policy should be. Bostic said at an event in Seattle, "I have been able to support the previous two rate cuts, and we'll see what happens with the next rate cut...I hope this information can guide me on what I think the appropriate policy should be." Currently, Federal Reserve officials are divided on whether to cut rates next month. So far this year, the Federal Reserve has reduced the benchmark interest rate by a total of 0.5 percentage points. According to pricing of futures contracts, investors now believe that the likelihood of a 25 basis point rate cut at the meeting on December 9th to 10th is close to 50%. Bostic believes that the environment in which the Federal Reserve is currently operating is challenging, calling it a "dual mandate environment where we are not making progress toward our targets in either dimension." The dual mandate of the Federal Reserve that he mentioned is to both maintain low and stable inflation and ensure a strong labor market. Earlier this week, Bostic also said he believed that current inflation remains a more prominent and urgent risk in the U.S. economy. On Wednesday, the 59-year-old Bostic announced that he would retire from the Federal Reserve after his term expires on February 28th. Previously, Bostic's views on monetary policy have tended towards being hawkish, and although he has never dissented on FOMC rate decisions, he has recently expressed concerns about inflation pressures in the United States. This article was reprinted from "Cailianshe", written by Liu Rui; GMTEight editor: Yan Wencai.