The Federal Reserve is likely on track to reduce borrowing costs further in December, as officials this w♉eek said the central bank is ready for any potenti🍰al changes in the economy.

Federal Reserve officials cut their benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point last week. Economists expect the central bank to continue ꦆmaking cuts for the foreseeable future as long as inflation stays in check and the job market is resilient. In speaking engagements this week, Fed officials seemed to agreꦑe.

“With the economy now in a good place and interest rates off their recent peak but also off their historic lows, the Fed is in a position to respond appropriately regardless of how the economy evolves,” said Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Tom Barkin at an event in Baltimore Tuesday. “After the challenge📖s of the last several years, that’s a good place to be.”

Inflation Concerns Likely Won't Slow The Rate Cut Cycle Yet

Federal Reserve officials have projected another quarter-point of interest r🦋ate cuts at its next meeting in December, something Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said was likely still ꦡon track.

“There'd have to be a surprise on the inflation front to change the outlook so dramatically,” Kashkari said at a Yahoo Finance event Tuesday.

Kashkari’s comments came before Wednesday’s relea🍨se of the Consumer Price Index💙 (CPI), which showed a 2.꧋6% annual inflation rate for October, just as economists had ex✨pected.

Voters cited inflation as 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:one of their top issues when supporting President-elect Donald Trump. Some economists have said that his policies 澳洲幸运5官方开♏奖结果体彩网:could exacerba💝te inflationary trends, though Fed officials say they arꦑen't taking those into account yet.

“We at the Fed simply have to wait and see whatever the Congress and the executive branch decide to do. We will then model it into our analysis of the economy, analysis of the economy's potential and outlook for the labor market and inflation,” Kashkari said. 

Interest Rates Could Stay Higher

Though more 澳洲幸运5官方开🎐奖结果体彩网:interest rate cuts may be in the outlook, it's unclear how many times the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will move to lowe💯r the federal fu♔nds rate.

Central bankers aim to reach an economic equilibrium where price pressures are controlled and the labor market is at full employment. Some economists think that the Fed could make several more cuts before hitting this level, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:often called the “neutral rate."

However, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank Pre✱sident Lorie Logan said more c👍aution may be needed.

“When I look at the available evidence, though, I see substantial signs that the neutral rate has increased in recent years and some hints that it could be very close to where the fed funds rate is now,” Logan said Wednesday. “If we cut too far, past neutral, inflation could accelerate, and the FOMC could need to reverse direction.”