A strong economy is giving Federal Reserve officials room to move “carefully” as they lower interest rates, the central bank chair said.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday that the US central bank 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 officials want to see where it heads next.

"The strength we are currently seeing in the economy gives us the ability to approach our decisions carefully," Powell said.