Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. economic recovery is likely to continue at a "solid" pace, yet it risks losing momentum as the virus surges. He added that it is too soon to close the Fed's emergency lending facilities.

Powell called rising virus infection rates a "significant" downside risk, "especially in the near term," during an online event Tuesday hosted by the Bay Area Council. "The concern is that people will lose confidence in efforts to control the pandemic, and they will pull back from activities that they think might put them at risk of infection, and there are some signs of that already."

While U.S. payrolls have recovered for six consecutive months, a resurgence in infections threatens to curtail activity and slow the recovery, with millions of Americans remaining out of work. Still, stocks hit record highs this week on the promise of vaccines against the coronavirus.