The Federal Reserve held rates steady Wednesday for the second meeting in a row as the war in Iran clouds an already murky economic picture. In its statement, the Fed acknowledged the war, but kept its language cautious, saying the economic implications of the Middle East conflict remain “uncertain.”
The decision was nearly unanimous, save for Stephen Miran, the Trump-appointed governor, who cast his fifth consecutive dissent in favor of a quarter-point cut. But the rest of the committee opted to sit tight, citing elevated uncertainty on both sides of the Fed’s dual mandate: inflation that won’t come down and a labor market that shocked economists with its slackness last month.
