US President Donald Trump has renewed his attacks on the US central bank, a few hours after the officials left unchanged interest rates despite his public calls to reduce.
In an article on social networks, he accused the federal reserve and its president Jerome Powell of having missed the economy, claiming that they had “not stopped the problem they created with inflation” .
The Fed left the key interest rate unchanged at its January meeting Wednesday, in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, reaching a break after a series of cuts at the end of last year.
Powell said the bank was not “pressed” to reduce more, given significant uncertainty about the economy management.
Trump has promised significant changes to the American economy, with calls for scanning prices, a mass deportation of illegal migrants and major reductions in taxes and regulations.
Some economists have warned that some of these policies could increase prices on prices, at least in the short term, the concerns that Powell said that some have been shared by some to the bank.
Howard Lungick, Trump’s choice to lead the Commerce Department, defended prices and rejected concerns about the impact on prices during his appointment audience on Thursday.
But Powell said that officials still made little sense in the way these plans would take place.
“The committee is very in the waiting method to see what will happen,” he said at a press conference to discuss the interest rate decision.
The Fed increased the borrowing costs significantly from 2022 in order to stabilize prices, which then increased at a rate not seen for decades.
Inflation, the price increase rate, has since fallen to 2.9% in December, but remains above the target of the bank.
The promises of Trump’s campaign included calls for lower interest rates, which would bring alleviation to borrowers.
This has aroused a debate on the question of whether he will respect the tradition of independence of the Fed, which is intended to keep it focused on long -term health of the American economy and isolated from politics.
Powell told journalists that he had “no contact” with Trump and that the bank was focused on fixing rate data.
But the questions with which Powell has been faced on how the Fed manages a new command of the White House to cancel diversity programs – and why he had retired from a global group of central banks focused on the risk of change Climate in the financial system – stressed the challenges he will face to keep the bank above the political fray.
He said the Fed examined the President’s order and said that the group’s objective expanded to areas too far from the Fed.
“I am aware of his appearance, but that was not really motivated by politics,” he said.
