Interest rate cuts are coming. Just not yet.

The Federal Reserve delivered that message, first in a policy statement and then in a news conference at which Chair Jerome Powell reinforced it.

The Fed did signal that it’s nearing a long-awaited shift toward cutting rates, evidence that its officials have grown confident that they’re close to fully taming inflation.

No longer does its policy statement say it’s still considering further rate hikes. Yet the officials made clear that the first rate cut is likely months away. Their statement said they don’t think it would be time to cut rates “until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably” to their 2% target.