Bostic: Fed independence means making decisions with a long-term horizon

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve independence hinges on the central bank's ability to think about issues with a longer term horizon than the shorter election cycles that can shape the thinking of elected officials, outgoing Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said on Thursday.

"If we are going to do our job well we have to be thinking over the long run," Bostic, who retires at the end of February, said in comments at Clark Atlanta University as the Fed faces ongoing pressure from President Donald Trump for lower interest rates. "People should be able to say what they want to say, but then at the end of the day...we have to go back to our terms and figure out how that fits into that long run horizon."