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U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his discontent with the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates on Wednesday.
Despite the Fed concluding its two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting by lowering the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.5%-3.75%, Trump insisted that the reduction should have been more substantial.
Trump stated that the Fed should have cut rates by at least twice as much.
Trump has been advocating for aggressive rate cuts by the Fed to boost economic growth. Additionally, lowering interest rates reduces the value of money, which has the effect of alleviating the U.S. debt burden.
Trump criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell for being inflexible, claiming he only approved a “modest” rate cut.
According to the CNBC, Trump made these remarks during a roundtable discussion with CEOs at the White House earlier that day.
While the Fed remained cautious about further cuts, it did lower rates as anticipated by 0.25 percentage points. Additionally, the central bank announced it would start purchasing short-term Treasury bills to inject liquidity into the market. Powell’s less hawkish stance during the press conference contributed to a rise in New York stock markets.
