Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday the day is swiftly approaching when the central bank will slow the pace of its balance sheet run off.

"It will be appropriate to slow the pace of run off fairly soon," Powell said at a Federal Open Market Committee press conference.

He was referring the ongoing draw down of the Fed's holdings of bonds, and he said slowing the pace of those reductions from its current pace of just shy of $100 billion per month will reduce the chance the Fed goes too far and rattles money markets.

(Reporting by Michael S. Derby;)