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STORY: "The U.S. economy continues to perform very, very well," Yellen said, responding to the Commerce Department's substantially weaker-than-expected initial estimate for U.S. gross domestic product from January through March.

That was below the 2.4% estimated by economists and less than half the pace in the fourth quarter of 2023 - thanks to substantial drags from trade and private inventories. The report also showed a worrisome surge in inflation, with the personal (PCE) consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy rising at a 3.7% annual rate after a 2.0% pace in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Yellen downplayed the inflation jump and said she did not see that as indicating that unemployment needed to increase or other areas of the economy needed to cool to return inflation to the Fed's 2% target.