11:10 AM EST, 02/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- If economic data continue to show a slowdown in inflation, it may be appropriate for the Federal Open Market Committee to begin lowering interest rates in the summer, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said Thursday in a fireside chat at the Atlanta Fed's 2024 Banking Outlook Conference.

Bostic said there are likely to be bumps in the road on the way down to the 2% inflation goal, some of which have been seen recently with stronger-than-expected January inflation data.

While the job is not done yet and vigilance is still required, Bostic said the trend remains downward and has allowed him to pull back his expected start to loosening policy into the summer compared with his previous forecast for the end of the year.

Bostic is a voter on the Federal Open Market Committee in 2024.