This footage was filmed and produced 6 March 2024.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that interest rate cuts are likely "at some point" , after driving them to a 22-year high to lower inflation.

"We think our policy rate is likely to be at its peak for this tightening cycle. If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will probably be appropriate to begin changing monetary policy sometime this year," he told the House Financial Services Committee.

"But the economic outlook is uncertain and progress toward our 2% inflation objective is not assured," Powell stressed.

SHOTLIST:

[SOUNDBITE: JEROME POWELL, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair]
"If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year. But the economic outlook is uncertain, and ongoing progress toward our 2 percent objective for inflation is not assured.

The Committee does not expect that it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent.

Reducing policy restraint too soon or too much could result in a reversal of progress we have seen in inflation and ultimately require even tighter policy to get inflation back to 2 percent. At the same time, reducing policy restraint too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment."