Bostic: Inflation is expected to gradually fall to 2% this year, but the Fed should still make cautious decisions

Fed's Bostic said officials should be cautious in their decisions given the uneven progress in reducing inflation, erring on the side of keeping interest rates high. Bostic also said in a podcast recorded Dec. 9 and released Tuesday that he expects inflation to continue to gradually fall to the Fed's 2% target this year. He said he expects price pressures to subside, although there may be times when it looks like progress is stalling or that inflation is becoming more aggressive. "I want to make sure we're getting the right signals and that our policy is calibrated to the right signals. If we have to err on the side of good, I'm going to err on the side of good," Bostic said in the podcast. "I want to make sure - certainly make sure - that inflation gets to 2%, and that means we may have to keep our policy rate higher than people expect."