Fed’s Bostic: Inflation Surge Likely Last Longer

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said Tuesday that while inflation has surged more than he had expected and runs the risk of being more persistent than desired, he still believes price pressures will ease over time, in other words,  U. S. jobs slowdown should not derail taper timeline.

“I continue to believe currently elevated inflation is episodic, driven by pandemic conditions such as disruptions in supply chains and labor markets,” Mr. Bostic said in a speech text.

U.S. inflation is above the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target and policymakers need to watch carefully to ensure that pandemic-induced pressures do not cause long-term inflation expectations to become unanchored, Atlanta Fed Bank President Raphael Bostic said.

Bostic also said he believes that many of the pricing trends caused by the pandemic will “unwind by themselves”.

He also cautioned that some of the supply chain disruptions may last longer than initially expected.