Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that 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 officials want to see where it heads next.

Ongoing economic growth, a solid job market, and inflation that remains above the 2% target means the U.S. central bank does not need to rush to lower interest rates and can deliberate carefully, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday.

Even with two Fed rate cuts now in the books, you can still easily earn 4% to 5% returns in a number of risk-free ways. One option even pays 13.3% APY for two months.

On Nov. 7, the Federal Reserve implemented a 0.25% reduction to the federal funds rate, its second cut in over four years. Prospective homebuyers are eager for a silver lining in the housing market. But experts don't anticipate dramatically lower rates before the end of the year.

Though the Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates, mortgage rates have been increasing or holding steady. When will potential homeowners see mortgage relief.

Earlier on Thursday, mortgage rates rose again for the sixth consecutive week, hitting a four-month high of 6.79%, according to Freddie Mac. The Fed's latest rate cut, which was universally expected and thus fully priced in to bond markets, is unlikely to bring relief to mortgage rates in the near term.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the recent performance of the US economy has been “remarkably good,” giving central bankers room to lower interest rates at a careful pace.Most Read from BloombergUnder Trump,

The Dow and the S&P 500 ended slightly higher on Wednesday while the Nasdaq lost ground after October data showed consumer prices rising in line with expectations, adding support to bets that the U.S.