The US Federal Reserve should proceed cautiously before supporting any future rate cuts, a senior bank official said Thursday, adding that she saw December's rate cut as a final step for now.

Federal Reserve officials at their meeting Dec. 17-18 expected to dial back the pace of interest rate cuts this year in the face of persistently elevated inflation and the threat of widespread tariffs and other potential policy changes.

Despite the progress that has been made, there are "upside risks to inflation," Bowman added. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge showed a rate of 2.4% in November but was at 2.8% when excluding food and energy, a core measure that officials see as a better long-run indicator.