Oct 22 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday that the U.S. central bank is “on track” to begin reducing its purchases of assets, and noted that he expects inflation to abate next year as pressures from COVID fade. “Supply constraints and elevated inflation are likely to last longer than previously expected and well into next year, and the same is true for pressure on wages,” Powell said in a virtual appearance. The most likely case is for inflation pressures to abate and job growth to resume its pace from this past summer, he said, but “if we were to see a risk of inflation moving persistently higher, we would certaintly use our tools.” Reporting by Ann Saphir, Lindsay Dunsmuir