The Federal Reserve cut its influential interest rate for the second meeting in a row last week to boost the economy and prevent a rise in unemployment, but it may take a while for consumers to see its effects.

"I anticipate the FOMC will most likely need more rate cuts to finish the journey" of bringing inflation toward the Fed's goal. But, she added, it's "best to proceed with caution," noting that "if we cut too far, past neutral, inflation could reaccelerate ...

October's Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures changes in the cost of consumer goods and services, showed that annual inflation rose by 2.6%. That's not an alarmingly high rate of inflation. It's also only a modest uptick from September's CPI reading, which measured annual inflation at 2.4%.