Trump says Federal Reserve ‘doesn’t know what it is doing’
US President Donald Trump has once again attacked his country’s central bank, saying on Twitter that the Federal Reserve “doesn’t know what it is doing”.
Read more: Trump says he could demote Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell
Trump’s tweets come a week after the Fed opted to hold interest rates between 2.25 and 2.50 per cent, but suggested it would soon opt for a cut.
The President has repeatedly attacked the Fed for not cutting interest rates, which he has said would make the US economy “rocket”.
His attack on the Fed comes despite a market rally that took place last week when the Fed hinted at future interest rate cuts.
Trump said the central bank had “raised rates far too fast”. He said “very low inflation” and “other parts of [the] world slowing, lowering and easing” meant this was a mistake.
Yet he claimed that it was in spite of the Fed’s actions that the US was on course to have “one of the best Months of June in U.S. history”.
Despite a Federal Reserve that doesn’t know what it is doing – raised rates far too fast (very low inflation, other parts of world slowing, lowering & easing) & did large scale tightening, $50 Billion/month, we are on course to have one of the best Months of June in US history…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2019
Trump was likely basing this claim on the performance of US stocks, which are set for their best first half in over 20 years. The first half ends on Friday.
However, growth in the US jobs market slowed sharply in May as the economy sends mixed signals.
The President also renewed his accusations that other countries were acting unfairly in the global economy.
He said the Fed needed to lower rates “to make up for what other countries are doing against us”.
Last week Trump accused European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi of deliberately devaluing the euro to make Eurozone exports more competitive.
Read more: Dollar falls as Fed holds rates but strikes dovish tone
Draghi rubbished Trump’s claims, saying the ECB’s only mandate was its two per cent inflation target.