Trump criticises US Federal Reserve for not 'acting quickly' as ECB

Hours after European Central Bank (ECB) lowered rates on deposit facility by 10 basis points, US President Donald Trump on Thursday criticised the Federal Reserve for not acting quickly as ECB.

"European Central Bank, acting quickly, Cuts Rates 10 Basis Points. They are trying, and succeeding, in depreciating the Euro against the VERY strong Dollar, hurting US exports... And the Fed sits, and sits, and sits. They get paid to borrow money, while we are paying interest!" he tweeted.

On Thursday, the European bank said that it would cut its interest rate for deposits by 10 basis points to minus 0.5 per cent, and keep them there or lower for the foreseeable future, CNN reported.

It also announced that it would start printing money again, promising to buy 20 billion Euros (USD 22 billion) in financial assets per month starting in November. The central bank said it would continue the purchases for "as long as necessary."

The ECB had ended its recent assent-buying program in December and the interest rates in the eurozone were already at historic lows.

However, Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is on the brink of recession, and the US-China trade war is dragging on growth. In this wake, ECB President Mario Draghi had been indicating that the central bank would take decisive action, which was reflected in its latest move.