Trump flays Fed for interest rate hikes

President Donald Trump has lashed out at the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, alleging that the latter is more interested in raising interest rates, rather than boosting the economy. In a Reuters exclusive, Trump has disclosed he was “not thrilled” with the Fed and blamed China and the European Union of exploiting their currencies.

Trump said the Fed was not supporting the US while the central banks of other countries were benefited during the troublesome trade talks.

Earlier in July, Trump had censured the Fed on a CNBC interview stating that he was unsatisfied with the central bank’s decision of raising interest rates, which in turn adds burden to the economy.

This is probably the first time the Fed is coming under the intense scrutiny of the President’s office, as it had always previously enjoyed an autonomous status. The central bank has been raising interest rates from the historic lows to bring it back to neutral levels, on optimism over a strong employment market and economic growth.

However, the president believes interest rates should remain low for a better economy, and the Fed should be more considerate in this regard.

Related: After Buffett and Dimon, Trump pushes to end quarterly results

Only a few days back Trump had disturbed a hornet’s nest when he tweeted that he has asked the SEC to study the possibility of switching to half-yearly results, rather than quarterly results for public companies. Trump stated such a move would help the companies focus on long-term goals and productivity.

However, many investors believe it would hurt the accountability of the trading environment and expressed hope that the SEC would not give a green signal to this proposal.