Fed's Bostic: open to a rate hike if inflation progress stalls

"If inflation stalls out or even starts moving in the opposite direction, away from our target, I don't think we'll have any other option but to respond to that," Bostic said at the University of Miami. Progress toward the Fed's 2% inflation goal has slowed in recent months, and U.S. central bankers have generally said that means they will likely hold rates at current levels for longer, with no urgency to cut them. Bostic himself has embraced that view, and currently projects one rate cut late in 2024 rather than the two rate cuts he had previously expected when inflation was coming down more rapidly.