(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he still prefers to raise rates by another quarter percentage point when officials meet later this month, but is open to lifting borrowing costs higher than previously thought to defeat inflation.
“I let the data guide me,” he said. “I am going to stay open to any possibility. If the data continue to come in suggesting the economy is stronger than I had projected, I’ll adjust my policy trajectory.”
US central bankers are waging their most aggressive action against high inflation in a generation. Officials lifted their benchmark lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point at the start of February, bringing the target to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%. That was a step down from the half percentage-point increase at their December meeting, which followed four consecutive jumbo-sized 75 basis-point hikes.
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