Unfortunately, this added uncertainty is not likely to be resolved anytime soon; Gulf Coast residents--both households and businesses--are assessing the damage; rebuilding plans and supporting government programs are just beginning to be put in place; large portions of the energy infrastructure remains shut down; and we are only starting to see the range of possible reactions to higher energy prices.
Economic activity and prices will be affected for some time and discerning underlying trends will be difficult. It is not obvious that this form of uncertainty has implications for monetary policy, however. Pausing or slowing down a rise in policy interest rates would not itself help to reduce uncertainty because the way in which policy might affect spending or inflation is not in question.