Fed’s Bostic – Tariffs will lead to higher prices

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic spoke earlier:

• Fed’s Bostic – economy is in incredible flux, hard to know where things will land

More now:

• Tariffs introduce higher costs, which will eventually lead to higher prices.
• Whether those higher prices result in sustained inflation remains an open question.
• At the start of the year, my outlook was that inflation would be volatile, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen.
• From the beginning, I was already in a reassessment mode, looking for a clearer signal.
• The overall direction remains uncertain.
• Businesses are optimistic about certain areas of the economy, such as deregulation and energy.
• I don’t think we’ll have a clear answer for some time.
• I’d be surprised if we gain significant clarity on the impact of these policies before late spring or summer.
• The decision at the May or June meeting will depend on how much clarity we have by then.
• We’ll need to be patient.
• It’s never ideal for the Fed to shift policy direction from one meeting to the next.
• It’s prudent for the Fed to remain patient and alert, allowing developments to unfold rather than reacting too quickly.

Bositc seems quite muddled here. Earlier on he said (see the post linked above):

• If we wait for trends to appear in national economic data before acting, we could be too late.

Now he says (see above):

• I’d be surprised if we gain significant clarity on the impact of these policies before late spring or summer.
• The decision at the May or June meeting will depend on how much clarity we have by then.
• We’ll need to be patient.
• It’s prudent for the Fed to remain patient and alert, allowing developments to unfold rather than reacting too quickly.

I gues you can split hairs and reconcile the remarks, but it’s have to be a stretch. Given how central banks function the latter comments make more sense on what to expect.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.