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President Donald Trump stepped up his assault on the Federal Reserve, urging it to cut interest rates by a full percentage point to aid global growth while complaining the “dollar is so strong that it is sadly hurting other parts of the world.”
“The Fed Rate, over a fairly short period of time, should be reduced by at least 100 basis points, with perhaps some quantitative easing as well,” the president said in a tweet Monday. “If that happened, our Economy would be even better, and the World Economy would be greatly and quickly enhanced--good for everyone!”
The Fed cut rates last month for the first time in a decade and signaled it was open to doing more amid slowing global growth and uncertainty over Trump’s trade war with China. Concern over the outlook has roiled financial markets and sent Treasury yields toward records lows, flashing recession-risk warnings as investors to increase bets the U.S. central bank will ease policy again.
Trump has previously urged the Fed to cut rates by a percentage point and resume bond purchases, while also complaining about the dollar’s strength. His wording on the currency this time was slightly different by focusing on its impact on countries other than the U.S.
He also accused Democrats of hoping for an economic downturn ahead of the presidential election.
“Our Economy is very strong, despite the horrendous lack of vision by Jay Powell and the Fed, but the Democrats are trying to ‘will’ the Economy to be bad for purposes of the 2020 Election,” he tweeted. “Very Selfish!”
Trump has relentlessly attacked the politically-independent central bank for raising rates in 2018, with his frustration reaching the point where he began asking aides about his ability to oust the Fed chief in discussions that were reported by Bloomberg News in December.
