JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker said Friday that the central bank may be able to hold interest rates steady in September and keep that position for an extended period of time, allowing previous rate hikes to continue lowering inflation.

"Right now I’d like to hold and see how things turn out," he said in an interview with Yahoo Finance at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. (video above).

Harker’s stance was more cautious than that of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who said Friday in a speech at the same symposium that the central bank is "prepared to raise rates further" as it continues its fight to bring inflation back to its 2% target.

Read more: What the latest Fed rate hike plan means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards

"At last year's Jackson Hole symposium, I delivered a brief, direct message," Powell said Friday. "My remarks this year will be a bit longer, but the message is the same: It is the Fed's job to bring inflation down to our 2% goal, and we will do so."

Given the magnitude of the Fed's rate hikes over the past 18 months, however, Powell added the Fed is "in a position to proceed carefully" as it mulls future actions.

Harker didn’t disagree with the goal of getting inflation down to 2%. “We all want to get to the same place,” he said.

But the question, he added, is “how we get there.” Previous rate hikes are “still putting pressure on the economy.”

Before the Fed meets again on Sept. 20, the central bank will have a slew of new economic data to consider, on everything from jobs to inflation. Harker said the data will determine what the Fed does and “I need to be open to that.”

Once the Fed does move to hold rates, he expects it to stay that way for awhile.

"We clearly are going to hold through the end of the year," he said, predicting that it may take until 2025 for inflation to get down to 2%.

"It is going to take some time."

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