U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers signaled on Thursday that the central bank's interest rate hikes are likely over, but left the door open to further monetary policy tightening should progress on inflation stall, and pushed back on market expectations for a quick pivot to rate cuts.
Fresh data shows price pressures are easing and the labor market is gradually cooling, evidence that the slowdown the Fed has tried to engineer with its rate hikes to date is underway.
Tighter financial and credit conditions after the Fed raised its policy rate 5.25 percentage points in the last 20 months should help bring inflation down further, New York Fed Bank President John Williams said on Thursday, noting that improvements in supply chains are also easing price pressures.