Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh on Wednesday held interest rates steady in his second meeting as chairman – though the committee’s 9-3 vote revealed growing dissent over whether they should consider rate hikes soon.
Warsh, who took over as chairman from Jerome Powell in May, has repeatedly called for a “good family fight” at the Fed – and it looks like he got his wish, as an increasing number of officials have called for raising interest rates.
After the war in Iran severely disrupted global energy supplies, raising costs and sending inflation above 4%, some Fed officials – including Warsh – have called for a focus on lowering inflation, which typically indicates a bias toward raising rates.
In June, inflation slowed to 3.5% as energy prices started to fall – but this week, the US and Iran once again resumed fighting after a multi-day pause and President Trump vowed to “beat the f–king s–t out of Iran” in response to surprise overnight attacks.
The question is whether one good inflation report is enough to shake off concerns around prices – sparking a debate around whether officials would be raising interest rates too soon, potentially stunting growth, or waiting too long to raise rates, allowing inflation to run rampant.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
