WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Federal Reserve (Fed) will push rates higher than previously expected and keep them there for an extended period, Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday in remarks likely intended to underscore the United States central bank's single-minded focus on combating stubborn inflation.

Yet in a speech at the Brookings Institution, Powell also signaled that the Fed might increase its key interest rate by a half-point at its December meeting, a smaller boost after four straight three-quarter point hikes. Rate increases could then fall to a more traditional quarter-point size at its February and March meetings, based on previous Fed forecasts.