Trump blames Fed’s policy for capping economic gains
New York: US President Donald Trump has criticised the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies, saying the central bank’s hesitation in lowering the interest rates capped gains in the US economy and stock market.
In a speech delivered on Tuesday at the Economic Club of New York, Trump emphasised the country’s economic strength, citing improving labor market data, Xinhua news agency reported.
He said his administration has delivered on its promises and exceeded expectations on the US economy, “despite the near-record number of rate increases and quantitative tightening by the Federal Reserve” since he won the presidential election.
“Eight increases in total… were in my opinion far too fast an increase and far too slow a decrease,” he said.
Trump noted that since his election, the S&P 500 has risen more than 45 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has increased over 50 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite has been up 60 per cent.
“If we had a Federal Reserve that worked with us, you could have added another 25 per cent to each of those numbers, I guarantee you that,” Trump said.
He said higher interest rates are putting the US at a competitive disadvantage compared to the rest of the world, especially those countries that have introduced negative interest rates.
“We are actively competing with nations who openly cut interest rates so that now many are actually getting paid when they pay off their loan, known as negative interest. Who ever heard of such a thing?” he said.
