Acknowledging the U.S. economy’s surprising strength — but also pointing to tighter financial conditions faced by businesses and households — the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Nov. 1, while leaving the door open to further increases in borrowing costs, according to news outlet Reuters.

“Economic activity expanded at a strong pace in the third quarter,” the central bank said in a statement after deciding to leave the benchmark interest rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range.

The Fed’s language marked an improvement from its September meeting’s “solid pace” of activity, which followed third quarter GDP growth of 4.9%.

“The Fed’s latest statement noted that with job gains still ‘strong’ and inflation still ‘elevated,’ the central bank continues to consider ‘the extent of additional policy firming that may be appropriate to return inflation to 2% over time,'” Reuters reported.