Fed's Bostic Says More Data Needed, Rate Cut Likely by Year-End

Bostic now joins a handful of other Fed policymakers who have pushed back in varying degrees against the notion they should react more aggressively.

Investors who are on edge will turn their attention next week to the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Though the conference agenda has not been made public, Chair Jerome Powell is widely expected to speak and could provide more guidance on what to expect when the central bank’s rate-setting panel meets in mid-September.

The latest data on prices, meanwhile, showed continued progress on lowering inflation. US producer prices rose in July by less than forecast, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Tuesday.

July numbers on consumer inflation are due Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the consumer price index rose 3% in the 12 months through July.

Last month policymakers kept interest rates unchanged at a more than two-decade high, yet signaled they were closer to lowering borrowing costs. Powell said a rate cut could be appropriate as soon as the central bank’s September meeting.

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