WASHINGTON -- Now that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has signaled that the central bank could soon cut its key interest rate, he faces a new challenge: how to do it without seeming to cave to the White House's demands.

For months, Powell has largely ignored President Donald Trump's constant hectoring that he reduce borrowing costs. Yet on Friday, in a highly anticipated speech, Powell suggested that the Fed could take such a step as soon as its next meeting in September.

It will be a fraught decision for the Fed, which must weigh it against persistent inflation and an economy that could also improve in the second half of this year.

Both trends, if they occur, could make a cut look premature.

Trump has urged Powell to slash rates, arguing that there is "no inflation" and saying a cut would lower the government's interest payments on its $37 trillion in debt.