Fed's Powell warns cutting rates too soon could backfire

NEW YORK -- Interest rate cuts are likely to come sometime this year, but the U.S. Federal Reserve wants to see more proof that inflation is cooling first, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers on Wednesday, warning of the risk of mistiming.

"If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year," Powell said in prepared remarks to the House Financial Services Committee in Washington as part of the Fed's semi-annual congressional hearing on monetary policy.