Fed's Hawkish Pivot: Powell's Oil Shock Warning Signals Prolonged High Rates

What Happened

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell dropped a bombshell during the March FOMC meeting: the Iran war's oil shock is fueling a "new inflation" wave, with U.S. gas prices already up 30%. The Fed held interest rates steady at 3.5-3.75%, but Powell's press conference painted a hawkish picture, noting job creation has slowed to near zero while unemployment holds at 4.4%. According to MarketWatch and the Financial Times, Powell explicitly tied the energy crisis to worsening...