US government borrowing costs have hit their highest level since 2007, reports infohub.kz. The Federal Reserve voted to hold its key interest rate steady, feeding fears it may not move fast enough to tame a rise in inflation. Kevin Warsh, the central bank’s chair, said the Fed would “not waver” in its commitment to tackling rising prices. The decision to leave rates on hold has spooked investors, who are worried about the US economy’s ability to absorb a rise in inflation, caused by Donald Trump’s war in Iran. US inflation cooled to an annual rate of 3.5% in June after Washington and Tehran agreed a brief ceasefire – but this has since ended. US stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 index closing down 1.5%. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 1.7%.
The US military has launched strikes on Iranian targets in response to Tehran’s attack on American forces in Jordan on Wednesday, risking a return to all-out war in the region. The latest strikes were launched hours after President Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran “very hard”. US Central Command said in a social media post that over two hours they had struck “dozens” of targets belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps. The barrage came after the US partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Iran-backed militias in neighboring Iraq on Wednesday, killing at least 20 fighters and six Iranian advisers. The renewed hostilities sent oil prices soaring. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.3% to more than $88 a barrel.