Trump suggests US Federal Reserve may be ready to cut interest rates

President Donald Trump said on Friday he had a good meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and got the impression that the head of the US central bank might be ready to lower interest rates.

 

The two men met on Thursday when Trump made a rare visit to the US central bank to tour its ongoing renovation of two buildings at its headquarters in Washington, which the White House has criticized as costing too much. Trump and Powell sparred over the price tag of the project during the visit. 

Trump also took the opportunity to again publicly call on Powell to slash rates immediately. 

 

"We had a very good meeting ... I think we had a very good meeting on interest rates," the president told reporters on Friday.

The Fed is widely expected to leave its benchmark interest rate in the 4.25 per cent-4.50 per cent range at the conclusion of a two-day policy meeting next week. Powell has said the Fed should wait for more data before adjusting rates. 

The U.S. central bank also said on Friday it was "grateful" for Trump's encouragement to complete the renovation of its buildings in Washington and that it "looked forward" to seeing the project through to completion.