(Jose Luis Magana/AP)Key Takeaways: The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged July 29, despite persistently high inflation and a spike in energy prices caused by the Iran war. WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged July 29 despite persistently high inflation and a spike in energy prices caused by the Iran war. The Iran war has generated uncertainty over the economic outlook and has driven energy prices higher, intensifying inflationary pressure and creating a quandary for Fed policymakers. That caused the greatest disruption in oil supplies in history and sent energy prices surging. So-called core inflation – which excludes volatile food and energy prices – cooled in June, partly because apartment rents aren’t rising as fast as they had been.