U.S. inflation rose 2.6% on an annual basis last month, representing an uptick from September when the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates amid signs of cooling prices and a weaker labor market.

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

Powell, in prepared remarks for a speech in Dallas, said that inflation is edging closer to the Fed’s 2 percent target, “but it is not there yet.” At the same time, he said,

The head of the Federal Reserve said Nov. 14 that the central bank will likely cut its key interest rate slowly and deliberately in the coming months, in

In a move that consumers will welcome, the Federal Reserve on Thursday slashed its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5-4.75%— marking the second reduction this year. The Federal Reserve implemented a series of interest rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 to combat high inflation — which peaked at 9% in the middle of 2022.