The Labor Department on Wednesday reported that consumer prices in October rose 2.6% from a year earlier. That marks a pickup in the pace of inflation from September, when prices were up 2.4% on the year.

Chair Jerome Powell says the Federal Reserve will likely cut its key interest rate slowly and deliberately in the coming months, in part because inflation has shown signs of persistence and the Fed’s officials want to see where it heads next.

Powell, in prepared remarks for a speech in Dallas, said that inflation is edging closer to the Fed’s 2 percent target, “but it is not there yet.” At the same time, he said,