WASHINGTON, July 24 (KUNA) -- US President Donald Trump on Thursday renewed his call for the Federal Reserve to bring down the interest rate to accelerate economic growth.
"We want to see interest rates come down," President Trump told Fed chief Jerome Powell during a visit to the Federal Researve headquarters.
"We're making unbelievable deals, and the money is pouring in. We want to get interest rates at some point, the level of interest rates now slow economic growth, it never helps it. If it's high, never helps it." He stressed that the US economy would do better if the interest rate is lowered.
"As good as we're doing, we do better if we have lower interest rates. And we should. Don't forget, without us, the whole world collapses. So we should have the lowest interest rate," he said.
He encouraged Powell to take the decision in the coming Fed meeting.
"Just a move of the hand saying we're going to lower interest rates, you would save a trillion dollars a year." President Trump's visit to the Fed comes roughly a week before officials at the central bank are set to gather for their next policy meeting.
Policymakers are widely expected to hold borrowing costs steady for a fifth straight meeting, extending a pause in interest rate cuts that began in January and has angered the president.
Trump has called for interest rates to be three percentage points lower, claiming that there is "no inflation" and that the central bank is costing the country a "fortune" in expenses related to paying down its debts.
The Fed's decision to stand pat is unlikely to be unanimous however, with two influential Trump-appointed governors recently making the case for a quarter-point cut at this meet. (end) rsr.ibi