The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on March 15–16 shed light on the economic impact of the Ukraine war on the U.S. economy, specifically with regard to inflation and the Fed’s interest rate. Participants in the meeting “judged that the implications of the war for the U.S. economy were highly uncertain, but in the near term, the invasion and related events were likely to create significant additional upward pressure on inflation and could weigh on economic activity,” the minutes said. Policymakers revised down their GDP growth expectations for 2022 from the earlier December forecasts due to multiple issues like a slowdown in inventory investment, reduced monetary and fiscal policy accommodations, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in rising commodity and energy prices. Inflation continues to “significantly exceed” the FOMC’s “longer-run goal.” The developments in Ukraine will “add to near-term inflation pressures.” Both Russia and Ukraine …