Fed ‘at or near’ goals, further rate hikes needed: Bostic

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Reuters) – With the U.S. economy now at or near the Federal Reserve’s goals of full employment and 2-percent inflation, the U.S. central bank should continue raising interest rates gradually over the next couple of years, a Fed policymaker said on Friday.

“If the economy evolves roughly as I suspect, I will likely support further increases over the course of the year,” Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Tennessee Economic Forum.

Six-month core inflation is now at 2 percent, and unemployment of 4.1 percent is at or below precrisis levels; those two data points, he said, “give me confidence we are at or near the (Fed’s) sustainable employment and inflation objectives.”

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.