Fed's Bowman says policy rate appears 'sufficiently restrictive'

(Reuters) - Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman on Monday said the U.S. central bank's monetary policy appears "sufficiently restrictive" to bring inflation back down to the Fed's 2% target.

Her remarks, which also indicated a willingness to support eventual interest-rate cuts as inflation falls, mark a change from her long-held view that further policy tightening will likely be necessary to bring inflation under control.

"My view has evolved to consider the possibility that the rate of inflation could decline further with the policy rate held at the current level for some time," Bowman said in remarks prepared for delivery to the South Carolina Bankers Association 2024 Community Bankers Conference. "Should inflation continue to fall closer to our 2 percent goal over time, it will eventually become appropriate to begin the process of lowering our policy rate to prevent policy from becoming overly restrictive."

The Fed last month held its policy rate steady in the 5.25% to 5.5% range, where it has been since last July, and signaled that its next move could be a reduction in the policy rate sometime in 2024.

(Reporting by Ann Saphir; editing by Jonathan Oatis)