Federal Reserve's Bostic: The Fed still needs to focus on inflation, and monetary policy needs to remain patient.

Federal Reserve Chairman Rafael Bostic emphasized the need for patience in monetary policy. He warned that the U.S. may be facing the risk of rising structural unemployment, a fundamental shift that cannot be corrected solely by interest rate adjustments. To address this, the Fed is closely monitoring labor slack across different groups. If unemployment stems from structural factors, attempting to correct it through significant interest rate cuts could inadvertently push up inflation rather than create jobs. Despite encouraging productivity gains, Bostic remains hawkish on price stability. He cautioned against overreacting to short-term economic "noise," arguing that excessive reactions to current pressures could create more instability in the future. The Fed's primary task remains controlling inflation, and it must resist the urge to prematurely change policy direction. (Jinshi)