US President Donald Trump has said he wants interest rates to be cut to one per cent and that he would “love” Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to resign.
Mr Trump added that he would pick a successor who wants to cut interest rates.
“I’d love him to resign if he wanted to. He’s done a lousy job,” Mr Trump said of Mr Powell, speaking at an Oval Office event on Friday.
“If I think somebody’s going to keep the rates where they are, or whatever, I’m not going to put them in.
“I’m going to put somebody that wants to cut rates. There are a lot of them out there,” he added.
Mr Trump's comments are the latest in a series of attacks on Mr Powell in recent months, increasing his pressure on the Federal Reserve chairman to lower interest rates.
Mr Powell so far has resisted and maintains that policy decisions will be data-dependent. The President has argued repeatedly that the central bank's policies are keeping government borrowing costs too high.
Mr Powell's term ends in May 2026 and Mr Trump is expected to nominate a successor in the coming months, according to Reuters.
The Fed last week kept interest rates unchanged between 4.25 and 4.50 per cent. It has not adjusted rates in its last four meetings, largely due to the uncertainty surrounding Mr Trump's tariffs.
Mr Powell last week said tariffs could either have a one-off or persistent effect on inflation. Asked by reporters why not cut interest rates this month, Mr Powell said he expected to see “meaningful” inflation in the coming months.
The Central Bank of the UAE, which follows Fed decisions because of the dollar peg, also held rates steady following the US central bank's most recent decision.
The Fed has held rates steady after lowering them by 100 basis points to about 4.33 per cent last year. Its next two-day meeting is on July 29-30.
