Federal Reserve’s Goolsbee: Iran War Leads to Persistent Energy Inflation, Asia Faces Stagflation Impact

Glonghui, May 28 — Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Thursday that energy inflation related to the Iran war has lasted longer than expected and has brought a "stagflation shock" to Asian economies. Speaking at a joint meeting of the Bank of Japan and the Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Goolsbee said that initial futures market forecasts had assumed energy prices would be "well below" current levels. Although recent signs of progress in U.S.-Iran peace talks have brought some decline in oil prices, they are still significantly above pre-war levels. Goolsbee also issued a warning to Asian economies, noting that because these economies rely on energy imports, the current shock "is more like a traditional stagflation shock."