U.S. Fed chair says confidence inflation will ease 'not as high as it was'

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that hot US inflation data has lowered his level of confidence that price rises will slow back down towards the bank's long-term target.

"The first quarter in the United States was notable for its lack of further progress on inflation," the head of the US central bank said during an event in the Netherlands that was streamed online.

"We did not expect this to be a smooth road, but these were higher than I think anybody expected," he continued.