Fed's Powell says tighter credit conditions ease rate hike pressure

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that the aftereffects of recent banking sector troubles take some pressure off the U.S. central bank to raise rates.

Tighter credit conditions mean that "our policy rate may not need to rise as much as it would have otherwise to achieve our goals," Powell said at a central bank conference in Washington. He spoke as the end of the Fed's rate hike cycle has come into view and markets and officials are debating whether more rate increases are needed to lower inflation.

He said it is still unclear if U.S. interest rates will need to rise further, as central bank officials balance uncertainty about the impact of past hikes in borrowing costs and recent bank credit tightening with the fact that inflation is proving hard to control.