[FRANKFURT] The US Federal Reserve must be “completely non-political”, its chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump repeatedly lashed out at him for not cutting interest rates sooner.
“We’re trying to deliver macro stability, financial stability, economic stability, for the benefit of all the people,” Powell told a gathering of top central bankers in Sintra, Portugal.
“If we’re going to do that successfully, we need to do it in a completely non-political way, which means we don’t take sides.”
The Fed has held its benchmark lending rate steady since its last reduction in December despite pressure from Trump.
On Tuesday, Powell repeated his message that the central bank was waiting for the impact of Trump’s tariffs before deciding on further rate cuts.
“As the US economy is in solid shape, we think that the prudent thing to do is to wait and learn more and see what those effects might be,” he said during a panel discussion at the forum organised by the European Central Bank (ECB).
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
“We expect to see over the summer some higher (inflation) readings,” he added.
Since returning to the presidency, Trump has imposed a 10-per cent tariff on almost all trading partners and steeper rates on imports of steel, aluminium and autos
But widespread effects have been muted so far, partly because Trump has backed off or postponed his most punishing tariff measures.
Businesses also stockpiled inventory in anticipation of the duties, avoiding immediate price hikes.
Powell refused to be drawn on whether July was too soon to cut rates, saying: “I wouldn’t take any meeting off the table, or put it directly on the table. It’s going to depend on how the data evolve”.
Speaking on the panel alongside Powell, ECB President Christine Lagarde also said the central bank for the 20 countries using the euro would make its rate decisions “meeting by meeting”.
But she said the ECB was “in a very good position” to keep inflation at its two-percent target, fuelling expectations the central bank would hold rates steady at its next gathering in July after a streak of cuts. AFP
