BANK OFFICIAL SAYS FED CUT OR HIKE EQUALLY LIKELY

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he sees no need to adjust U.S. monetary policy and that an interestrate cut or increase are equally likely this year.

“If you ask me how the scales are, I don’t feel like for me they are tilted more to the cut than to the hike,’‘ Bostic said Monday in a Bloomberg Television interview with Michael McKee from Amelia Island, Fla., where the bank is hosting its annual financial-markets conference. “I think we are pretty much in balance.’‘

The Federal Open Market Committee earlier this month held borrowing costs steady and said it would be patient in adjusting rates either up or down. Markets, however, have priced in the likelihood of a reduction amid signs of slowing growth and a mounting U.S.-China trade dispute, while President Donald Trump has called for a full percentage-point cut.

“There are a lot of risks out there which if they come to fruition might have the economy weaken,’‘ Bostic said. “If that happens, then a rate cut might be appropriate. But there are also a lot of sources of uncertainty that if they are resolved in particular ways the economy might actually get a whole lot stronger, which could suggest we might want to do a rate hike.” — Bloomberg News