Federal Reserve officials expressed confidence that inflation is easing and the labor market is strong, allowing for further interest rate cuts albeit at a gradual pace, according to minutes from the November meeting released Tuesday.

Powell just a week after the meeting said the economy was "not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates."

The account of the central bank’s Nov. 6-7 meeting, released on Tuesday, showed that Fed officials still planned to cut interest rates further. But with the job market holding up better than expected and the economy growing at a solid clip, they are in no rush to slash them rapidly.

Despite inflation in some sectors remaining outside the Federal Reserve's benchmark of 2%, officials indicated they are pleased with the current easing of interest rates, and more gradual cuts may follow.