WASHINGTON — The odds of further interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve dwindled last week as unemployment fell and more officials say they want to see how new policies from the White House affect the economy.

While Fed officials penciled in two rate cuts this year at their December meeting, economists and Wall Street investors are increasingly skeptical, with some predicting no reductions at all this year.

The shifting expectations come as Chair Jerome Powell heads to Capitol Hill for two days of testimony this week, beginning Tuesday, to House and Senate committees that oversee the central bank and the financial industry. Fed chairs are required by law to appear before Congress twice a year. — Associated Press