The Fed isn't likely to pause its rate hikes anytime soon as the economy still has a lot of momentum, Vice Chair Lael Brainard says

• The Federal Reserve isn't likely to pause its rate hikes anytime soon, according to the vice chair.
• "Right now, it's very hard to see the case for a pause," Lael Brainard told CNBC.

The Federal Reserve isn't likely to pause its rate-hike pace in the near future, Vice Chair Lael Brainard told CNBC Thursday.

She said bringing inflation back down is the Fed's "number one challenge right now" as data have yet to show a steady cooling trend.

"Right now, it's very hard to see the case for a pause," Brainard said. "We've still got a lot of work to do to get inflation down to our 2% target."

The comments contrast with earlier hints that the Fed would pause hiking rates later this year. Minutes from the central bank's last meeting indicated some policymakers would like to see in the fall how tighter conditions are having an effect before continuing to increase rates. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic has also mentioned the idea of a pause.

When asked if inflation has peaked, Brainard said she ideally would want to see consistent declines in core prices, which exclude volatile components like food and energy, to feel confident that inflation is coming down.

For now, Wall Street has already priced two more 50-basis-point increases at upcoming Fed meetings, which Brainard said is a "reasonable kind of path."

"If we don't see the kind of deceleration in monthly inflation prints, if we don't see some of that really hot demand starting to cool a little bit, then it might well be appropriate to have another meeting where we proceed at the same pace," she said. "If we are seeing a deceleration in the monthly prints, it might make sense to be proceeding at a slightly slower pace."

She noted that Russia's invasion in Ukraine and continued lockdowns in China have added uncertainty to market conditions that further complicate any effort to slow down raising rates.

Brainard remained confident that the Fed would eventually reach its 2% goal, and pointed to inflation coming down while the labor market remains strong.

"We are starting from a position of strength — the economy has a lot of momentum," she said.