Fed officials warn not raising interest rates was a mistake | CNN Business

Inflation is a far more serious and persistent issue than the Fed has made it out to be, and it must be addressed by raising interest rates, a group of rate-setting committee members said Friday. For months, the war in Iran has destabilized the global energy market, pushing up gas prices in America. The Fed has no control over that, but that isn’t the only source of inflation pressures, the officials said. The Fed on Wednesday held interest rates steady for the fifth meeting in a row. However, three officials – Fed presidents Beth Hammack of Cleveland, Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis and Lorie Logan of Dallas – dissented in favor of raising rates by a quarter point. In separate statements on Friday, each detailed their rationale for breaking ranks with the majority. Spiking energy costs can be especially tricky for the Fed. For one, higher fuel costs touch so many parts of the economy, like the prices to ship groceries, airfares for vacation and even the gas to help Americans get to work. But interest rates, the Fed’s main tool to combat inflation, can’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz and get oil flowing again, the real problem behind much of the rising oil costs. But the infla