Americans have headed into their holiday season feeling less than festive about the costs of gifts and travel. However, they have been cheered to see the prices of some goods come down -- as have the people in charge of monetary policy.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell visited the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, to share his views on where inflation is headed. He and his colleagues have raised interest rates 6 times this year.

Powell said they will continue "until the job is done." He added that history cautions strongly against "prematurely loosening policy."

In June, Powell saw inflation rise to a 40-year high of 9.1 percent. Policymakers would like to bring that down to 2 percent. Powell said that wages have been increasing, which helps people pay for what they need, but that for most workers, salaries are being "eaten up by inflation."

He suggested policymakers could introduce smaller rate hikes, possibly even at the Fed's December meeting. However, he said that with inflation where it is, they still have a "long way to go."