Interest rate cuts are no longer easy for the Fed. With ongoing Iran conflict and volatile oil markets, it may even consider rate hikes to ensure inflation remains stable.
Data & financial journalist covering global economics and policy
Interest rate cuts are no longer easy for the Fed. With ongoing Iran conflict and volatile oil markets, it may even consider rate hikes to ensure inflation remains stable.
Rising oil prices are now feeding into U.S. inflation, with energy costs driving a sharp increase in headline CPI for March. As crude climbs above $100 per barrel amid Iran war tensions, the divergence between headline and core inflation is complicating the Federal Reserve’s path on interest rates.
Oil and gas might not be the only commodities vulnerable to the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Fertilizers are at particular risk, as their supplies get choked at the strait, a critical shipping corridor for a third of the world’s fertilizer shipments.
Following series were published in June 2025 and is being republished due to the recent shift in geopolitics around the Strait