A key question hangs over the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting that ends Wednesday: Will central bank policymakers still reduce short-term interest rates this year, now that the Iran war has sent oil prices higher and gas prices spiking?

The U.S. central bank held interest rates steady on Wednesday and projected higher ​inflation, steady unemployment and a single reduction in borrowing costs this year, a path that Federal Reserve Cha...

He repeatedly said it was too early to tell how the conflict would affect inflation and unemployment, although he acknowledged that the U.S. economy was still on relatively solid footing.