Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday said that the central bank is in no rush to lower interest rates as inflation remains above its stated goals.

Speaking before the Senate Banking Committee, Powell said the economy remains strong and the labor market is “solid.” He said inflation is coming down but remained above the Fed’s stated goal of 2%. Under such conditions, Powell said the Fed sees no reason to move quickly to lower interest rates.

Powell acknowledged that mortgage rates remain high, but he argued that they had little to do with the Fed rate and more to do with the long-term bond rates, in particular the 10-year Treasury and the 30-year Treasury. He said those rates are high for reasons not “particularly closely related to Fed policy.”

“With our policy stance now significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance,” Powell told the committee. “We know that reducing policy restraint too fast or too much could hinder progress on inflation. At the same time, reducing policy restraint too slowly or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment.”

In his opening statement, Powell did not speak directly to the economic impact of potentially inflationary policies, such as President Donald Trump placing tariffs on major U.S. trading partners. But he is expected to be grilled on the issue during his two appearances this week in front of Senate committees.

The hopes that the Fed would cut interest rates three or even more times this year are a thing of the past. Instead, Fed watchers now expect the Fed to keep interest rates steady perhaps into the summer months. Powell said the current funds rate of between 4.25% and 4.5% is providing the Fed with flexibility.

“We are attentive to the risks to both sides of our dual mandate, and policy is well positioned to deal with the risks and uncertainties to we face,” Powell said.