Donald Trump blasts ECB's Mario Draghi, China for weak currencies

US President Donald Trump accused the euro area and China of weakening their currencies to gain an economic advantage, calling out the European Central Bank president for pledging monetary stimulus just as Federal Reserve officials prepared to meet in Washington.

 

“Mario Draghi just announced more stimulus could come, which immediately dropped the euro against the dollar, making it unfairly easier for them to compete against the USA,” Trump tweeted. “They have been getting away with this for years, along with China and others.”

 

Trump’s Twitter post came hours before the Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to start a two-day policy meeting and not long after Draghi said at the institution’s annual forum in Sintra, Portugal, that “additional stimulus will be required” if the economic outlook for the 19-nation euro area doesn’t improve. In a subsequent comment, Draghi said “we don’t target the exchange rate — keep this in mind.”

 

The euro fell on Trump’s tweet and was down 0.2 per cent at $1.1200 as of 9:45 pm.