President Donald Trump aimed another Twitter salvo at the Federal Reserve Monday morning, calling for a weaker dollar like China and more interest rate cuts ahead of this week’s meeting concerning U.S. monetary policy.
Trump slammed the strength of the U.S. dollar and pointed to China’s move to weaken the yuan, its currency, to provide stimulus.
“Producer prices in China shrank most in 3 years due to China’s big devaluation of their currency, coupled with monetary stimulus,” Trump tweeted. A weaker currency makes exports less expensive relative to the currency.
…The United States, because of the Federal Reserve, is paying a MUCH higher Interest Rate than other competing countries. They can’t believe how lucky they are that Jay Powell & the Fed don’t have a clue. And now, on top of it all, the Oil hit. Big Interest Rate Drop, Stimulus!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2019
Trump then called on the Fed to respond asking: “Will Fed ever get into the game?”
It’s not the first time Trump has berated the Fed for not weakening the dollar. The president called for the U.S. to join China and Europe in the currency manipulation game back in July. A month later, China was labeled a currency manipulator by the U.S. Treasury when the yuan fell to the politically sensitive level of around 7-to-1.
Trump went on to blame the Fed for high interest rates in the U.S. compared to the rest of the world: “…The United States, because of the Federal Reserve, is paying a MUCH higher Interest Rate than other competing countries,” Trump tweeted.
Investors and analysts alike expect the Fed and Chair Jerome Powell to cut its key interest rate by another 25 basis points during a two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting starting Tuesday. The Fed’s July cut to a range of 2%-2.25% was the first since the Great Recession.
That may not be enough for Trump, though, who just last week called for the Fed to follow other countries and cut rates to zero “or less.” The president has been searching for ways to stimulate the economy heading into the 2020 election season.