Fed’s Bostic: “Fully comfortable” moving rates higher if inflation not moving down significantly

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic crossed wires during an interview with MarketWatch as he said that his suggestion that the central bank takes a September “pause” in its push to raise interest rates should not be construed in any way as a “Fed put,” or belief that the central bank would come to the rescue of markets.

Key quotes

The notion of any sort of “Fed put” was never a factor in his thinking.

I think it’s a good tale on some level for storybooks, but it’s not driving how I’m thinking about policy.

A pause might be a good idea because the market’s response to the Fed’s shift to raising rates “was far stronger than what we’ve historically seen.”

FX reaction

Following the news, S&P 500 Futures remain mildly bid and the EUR/USD pair consolidates recent losses around 1.0735.