Atlanta Fed Pres.: I ‘Probably’ Wouldn’t Cut Rates Even if There’s a Recession, Won’t Be Thinking About Cuts Until ‘Well into 2024’

On Monday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said that he won’t be thinking about cutting interest rates “until well into” next year and that he probably wouldn’t cut interest rates if there was a recession because we have to get inflation down, “and if there’s going to be some cost to that, we’ve got to be willing to do that.”

Bostic stated, “So, my baseline case is we won’t really be thinking about cutting until well into 2024.”

Later, Bostic said that he doesn’t think there will be a recession, but if there is one, it’s “not going to be very long and I think it’s not going to be very deep. … I think we can get inflation down without there being a lot of pain for American households.”

CNBC Senior Economics Reporter Steve Liesman then asked, “Would you cut if there were a recession?”

Bostic answered, “Probably not. To me, inflation is job number one. We’ve got to get that to our target, and if there’s going to be some cost to that, we’ve got to be willing to do that. And look, inflation today — or unemployment today is at historic levels. It’s at 3.4%, right? So, some…pulling back from that will still be a very strong economy. And that’s something I think everyone needs to understand. We have seen an extremely resilient U.S. economy through this pandemic, and even with some weakness, we’ll be in a very strong position.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett