Fed Officials Voice Growing Concern Over Fallout from Iran War

Three Fed officials on Thursday expressed growing anxiety over the US economic outlook due to the war in the Middle East, with one policymaker saying the spike in oil prices had shifted the balance of risks for now, leaving inflation as a bigger concern than employment.

“I would argue that the inflation risk is greater right now as a result of the Iran war,” Fed Governor Lisa Cook said Thursday while answering questions after a speech in New Haven, Connecticut. “With respect to the labor market, I see it as being in balance, but precariously so.”