Asian stocks fell on Monday as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve boss Kevin Warsh saw investors ramp up bets on a US interest rate hike, while oil prices spiked after a fresh flare-up in the US-Iran war.
With inflation remaining stubbornly high - largely on the back of elevated energy costs - the US central bank has come under pressure to act, and Warsh's refusal to provide guidance has stoked uncertainty.
But in a highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole symposium of central bankers and economists in Wyoming, he left traders with few doubts that he was ready to increase borrowing costs.
Warsh said: "We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do."
He called the spike in inflation - currently at 3.7% and nearly double the Fed's 2% target - "concerning", and said he would be "hard-pressed" to describe current financial conditions as "restrictive", a potential hint that rate hikes could be on the horizon.
