US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday there are "some ways to go" with rate hikes and the "ultimate level" of increases will be higher than previously expected.
"There is significant uncertainty around that level of interest rates. Even so, we still have some ways to go, and incoming data since our last meeting suggest that the ultimate level of interest rates will be higher than previously expected," he said during a news conference after the conclusion of the Fed's two-day meeting.
"Our decisions will depend on the totality of incoming data and their implications for the outlook of economic activity," he said.
The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points for the fourth consecutive time to fight record inflation, carrying the target range for the federal funds rate to between 3.75% and 4% -- its highest since January 2008.
Investors and economists wanted to see hints in a post-meeting statement about whether the Fed would lift its foot off the gas in rate hikes.
Powell said the latest consumer inflation figures since the previous meeting on Sept. 21 "suggest to me that we may move to higher (interest rate) levels than we thought at the time during the September meeting."
The chair, however, reiterated that it will become appropriate at some point to slow the pace of rate increases as the Fed approaches the level of rates that will be sufficient to bring inflation to its 2% goal.
"Financial conditions have tightened significantly in response to our policy actions, and we are seeing the effects on demand in the most interest rate-sensitive sectors in the economy such as housing. It will take time, however, for the full effects of the monetary restraint to be realized, especially on inflation," he said.
