Fed's Goolsbee warns oil shock will significantly raise inflation expectations

Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a voting member of the FOMC this year, warned on April 2 that the economy is facing an oil price shock. He expressed concern about the poor timing of the shock, noting that it is pushing prices up again while inflation from last year's tariff shock has not yet subsided. Goolsbee said that if gasoline prices rise sharply in the short term, expectations for the 12-month inflation outlook will begin to increase significantly, which could put the Fed in a more difficult situation. He added that since the outbreak of war in Iran, rising oil prices have also increased business uncertainty and slowed the pace of hiring.