Yellen Still Sees Chance of a Fed Cut This Year Amid Oil Shock

Former Treasury Secretary and ex-Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she still sees prospects for a US interest-rate cut later this year, though the unfolding oil shock caused by the war in Iran clouds the outlook.

“This is really a broad supply shock,” spreading from pump prices to LNG, fertilizers, food, shipping costs, and semiconductors, Yellen said at the HSBC Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong on Wednesday. While the need to raise rates can’t be ruled out, stable long-run inflation expectations suggest that scenario remains unlikely for now, Yellen said.