Atlanta Fed President forecasts 1 rate cut in 2025

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic expects one interest rate cut this year, despite the persisting global economic uncertainty.

“I do still have in mind…one cut for the year. I still think there is space for that,” Bostic told reporters during a press call today, June 3. “A lot of it will depend on how the uncertainty resolves itself.”

The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to meet in mid-June to decide on benchmark interest rates, when policymakers are also expected to release an updated Summary of Economic Projections.

In their March forecasts, Fed officials had anticipated only two interest rate cuts this year. However, the economic situation has changed dramatically in the recent period as President Donald Trump started to enforce his protectionist trade policy in early April.

Since then, Fed officials have kept interest rates steady, repeatedly emphasizing the dire need for more time and data before raising borrowing costs, to better digest the true impact of tariffs on inflation, economic growth, and employment.

In a recent article published on the Atlanta Fed's website, Bostic stated that regional business contacts reported mostly neutral to negative sentiments about the economy in the Southeast, with negative sentiment worsening during the spring, based on information gathered for the April 23 edition of the Beige Book.