Experts warn that the conflict’s impact on energy prices in particular has heightened the risk of another economic downturn.

The Richmond Fed president said holding interest rates steady in March was the right move amid a long stretch of elevated uncertainty.

Like many others, officials at the Federal Reserve are monitoring the situation in the Middle East and are growing more concerned about its effect on inflation and the job market. That stands to affect interest rates.

In three separate appearances Thursday, Fed Gov. Lisa Cook, Gov. Michael Barr and Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said they are worried that U.S. involvement in the war with Iran could drive up inflation,

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook says the Iran war has shifted the balance of risks for now, leaving inflation as a bigger concern for policymakers than employment. She speaks during an event in New Haven,

US stocks slid and the Dow closed in correction Friday as uncertainty about the duration of the war with Iran and nerves about energy inflation continued to weigh on markets.

"The Middle East War now appears to be broadening and deepening," Capital Alpha Partners analyst Byron Callan said in a note on Thursday.

Three Fed officials on Thursday expressed growing anxiety over the US economic outlook due to the war in the Middle East, with one policymaker saying the spike in oil prices had shifted the balance of risks for now,