While a report on labor statistics in the United States revealed Tuesday that US job openings fell in June to the lowest level since April 2021, a banking official urged the US central bank to be cautious not to overtighten monetary policy with inflation poised to continue receding.
Bloomberg quoted Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic as saying on Tuesday “I think we are in a phase now where there is some risk of us overtightening. And so we’ve just got to have that in mind,” he said. “If we can be appropriately cautious, I think we have the opportunity to minimize the damage that we see on the employment side.” The Fed at its July 25-26 meeting raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point, bringing it to a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest level in 22 years.
Bostic urged the US central bank to be cautious not to overtighten monetary policy with inflation poised to continue receding. “There has been significant progress in the battle,” Bostic said in a press briefing. “Inflation is well off of its highs that we saw in the last year. And recent numbers have come in promising in ways that suggest that we might be seeing continued declines.” Inflation fell in June to its slowest pace in more than two years, giving Americans relief from a painful period of rising prices. However, it remained strong enough to prompt the Federal Reserve to consider continuing to raise interest rates. (MORE)
Source: Qatar News Agency
