WASHINGTON ¨C Chances for U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh to quickly loosen monetary policy are dwindling in the eyes of investors and analysts who have begun to question how far Warsh can steer his colleagues toward lower borrowing costs if an ongoing oil price shock persists.
The volatile outlook continued on Friday in data that pulled against both sides of the Fed¡¯s twin goals of stable prices and maximum employment, with new reports showing a key inflation measure in January remained more than a percentage point above the Fed¡¯s 2% target, while new estimates showed the economy grew far more slowly at the end of last year than initially thought, expanding at a near stall speed annual pace of 0.7%.
Despite moves by major developed nations to release stockpiled oil reserves, the price of benchmark Brent Crude meanwhile remained near $100 a barrel on Friday, off recent triple-digit levels but still elevated amid ongoing Iranian attacks against shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, more oil infrastructure closures in the region, and rhetoric from Trump that has veered from hints of a quick end to U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran to demands for ¡°unconditional surrender¡± from the country¡¯s ruling Islamist regime.
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