Higher inflation readings reported on Wednesday left Federal Reserve officials telling U.S. lawmakers, business executives and the public that they may be waiting longer than they had thought for relief from high interest rates,

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the latest consumer price data show that while the central bank has made substantial progress toward taming inflation, there is still more work to do.

Powell said officials need to see more progress on slowing inflation before considering further rate cuts but declined to give a specific level. “We're looking at the labor market and inflation,” Powell said in response to a question from Rep.