(Reuters) -Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic on Wednesday said he favors leaving interest rates where they are until there is "clear evidence" that inflation is moving back to the U.S. central bank's 2% target.

Bostic, speaking just over two hours after unexpectedly announcing plans to retire at the end of February, said in judging the risks to the Fed's dual mandates of price stability and a strong job market, he believes the "clearer and more urgent risk is still price stability."

"I view the signals from the labor market as ambiguous and difficult to interpret," Bostic said in remarks prepared for a speech to the Atlanta Economics Club. "They are not clear enough to warrant an aggressive monetary policy response when weighed against the more straightforward risk of ongoing inflationary pressures."

The remarks from Bostic, who with his retirement now approaching will not vote again on U.S. interest rate policy, show he is firmly aligned with a hawkish group of policymakers anchored among the Fed's regional bank presidents.

The Fed cut rates in late October for a second straight meeting, though Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid dissented in the decision.