Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed officials have reiterated their stance on maintaining high interest rates to combat inflation. Despite sharp interest rate hikes over the past two years, inflation remains higher than expected, and the Fed believes it will take longer for these measures to bring inflation down. Powell emphasized that it is too early to consider rate cuts and that the current monetary policy is sufficiently restrictive. He noted that the U.S. economy is in good shape, with continued GDP growth and a strong labor market, although there are still labor shortages in many industries. Powell also highlighted the positive impact of immigration on alleviating labor shortages and boosting economic growth. The Fed plans to hold interest rates at the highest level in more than two decades as it awaits evidence that a slowdown in inflation will resume after setbacks this year. Powell remains confident that inflation will reach the 2% target with the current policy.