NEW YORK Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said on Thursday that controlling inflation is still the U.S. central bank's mission, although he did not say what that means for monetary policy.

"As for inflation, that is job one for now," Bostic said in the text of a speech prepared for delivery at an event at the New School in New York.

Bostic said economic disparities built up over a long period and will not be eliminated quickly. He also said monetary policy is limited in helping reduce these imbalances.

"Monetary policy can help create broad conditions conducive to sustaining economic expansions," Bostic said. "That is where our policy can contribute to better labor market outcomes for those typically on the margins of the economy and the short end of wealth inequality."

(Reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Richard Chang)