Yellen Sees Fed ‘Even More on Hold’ Given Iran Conflict Risk (1)

Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, depending on how long the Iran conflict affects the oil market, there will be both a hit to US economic growth and an increase in inflationary pressures, complicating the job for the Federal Reserve.

“I think the recent Iran situation puts the Fed even more on hold, more reluctant to cut rates than they were before this happened,” Yellen, who’s also a former Fed chair, said via video to a conference Monday in Long Beach, California.

Inflation is already running about a percentage point above the Fed’s target, Yellen noted. President Donald Trump’s ...