Bloomberg Surveillance · Monday, August 31, 2026
Sarah Hunt notes that escalating tensions have caused oil prices to become volatile, with a recent spike due to weekend events. She believes that if hostilities do not repeat and calm returns, oil prices may subside. Hunt points out that higher oil prices are a bigger problem for consumers than corporations, especially impacting transportation, food, and energy costs, and are difficult for the Fed to address without hurting employment.
“I think this is a consequence, obviously, of what happened over the weekend and the concern that we are now going to be back in a hostility situation.”
“So right now, the biggest problem for inflation is probably more for consumers than it is for corporations, depending on what you do and what sector you're in, right? Because if transportation costs are a large part of what your cost basis is, if you're an airline, this is a problem.”
“The problem is that raising rates doesn't necessarily attack that, except by lowering demand, and then that hurts your employment picture.”