Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, said that the latest economic data shows that the inflation rate is returning to a downward trajectory, but he added that officials want to see more data before cutting rates. "Because the U.S. economy is strong and the labor market is strong, we have the ability to calmly handle this," Powell said during a panel discussion at the European Central Bank forum in Sintra, Portugal on Tuesday. "This is what we plan to do." Powell sat next to European Central Bank President Lagarde and Brazilian Central Bank President Roberto Campos Neto, and he refused to give any specific guidance on the timing of the first rate cut.