"The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates," he said, calling the US economy's recent performance "by far the best of any major economy i

The U.S. economy is in strong shape, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said Thursday, which means the central bank can move carefully as it cuts interest rates. Why it matters: The direction of Fed policy is clear — the central bank is likely to cut interest rates further — but Powell's remarks indicate that it is uncertain how fast and how far those rate reductions will be.

Fed watchers see a greater chance the central bank may skip a rate cut at its last meeting of the year in December.