Ongoing economic growth, a solid job market, and inflation that remains above the 2% target means the U.S. central bank does not need to rush to lower interest rates and can deliberate carefully, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday.

U.S. Gross Domestic Product expanded by 2.8% in the third quarter of 2024. Despite solid U.S. economic growth, the Fed is likely to cut interest rates further this year.

Chair Jerome Powell says the Federal Reserve will likely cut its key interest rate slowly and deliberately in the coming months, in part because inflation has shown signs of persistence and the Fed’s

"The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates," Powell said Thursday in Dallas.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that the economy is in a good place, with inflation on a sustainable path back to the central bank’s 2% target, and that he expects inflation to continue to come down on a “sometimes bumpy” path.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that interest rates are still expected to decline further, but suggested they might not be that much lower over the next few months.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the recent performance of the US economy has been “remarkably good,” giving central bankers room to lower interest rates at a careful pace.