US rate hikes could slow 'as soon as' December: Fed chair

The Federal Reserve could ease its pace of interest rate hikes "as soon as" December, chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday, as the US central bank's campaign to cool prices trickles through the world's largest economy.

With American households grappling with soaring consumer costs, the Fed has waged an all-out battle to tame inflation that has reached levels not seen since the 1980s -- while trying to avoid tipping the United States into a recession.

"The time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting" of Fed policymakers, Powell said in a speech at the Brookings Institution think tank.

He added that the full effects of the bank's moves are yet to be felt, but also warned that policy will likely have to remain tight "for some time" to restore price stability.

Monetary policy affects the economy and inflation with "uncertain lags," he said.

"Thus, it makes sense to moderate the pace of our rate increases as we approach the level of restraint that will be sufficient to bring inflation down," he added.

But he also said that the Fed would "stay the course until the job is done," noting that history cautions strongly against loosening policy prematurely.

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