(Washington) The President of the Central Bank of the United States (Fed) Jerome Powell repeated on Tuesday that he saw “no emergency” to lower interest rates, against the current members of the institution and especially Donald Trump.
“For the moment, we are well placed to wait to know more about the probable evolution of the economy before considering any adjustment of our policy,” Powell said at the start of a hearing before the financial commission of the House of Representatives in Washington.
“I don’t think we need to hurry [de bouger les taux] Because the economy is still solid, ”he said a little later.
The Fed boss has been faced for months for a fire fueled by Trump. The American president accuses him of conducting an overly restrictive monetary policy.
A few hours before Tuesday’s hearing, Trump described Mr. Powell as “beast” and “stubborn”. The United States will pay “for his incompetence for many years,” said the head of state.
“No inflation, a superb economy. We should be at least two or three points [de pourcentage] Lower ”in terms of guiding rates, President Trump also said on his Truth Social platform.
He called on the Fed Governors’ Council to “act” against Mr. Powell. Last Friday, he suggested that the other American central bankers overthrow him.
Fed guiding rates – which guide the loan costs for individuals and businesses – are between 4.25 % and 4.50 % since December.
Mr. Powell, whose mandate runs until the spring of 2026, had been propelled at the head of the Central Bank by Mr. Trump himself during his first mandate.
Asked about the impact of presidential pressure on his work, Mr. Powell said that he and his colleagues were “only concentrated” on their mission at the service of the Americans.
“Everything else is a sort of distraction. […] We always do what we just think, and we live with the consequences, ”he added.
He also deemed fundamental to preserve Fed’s credibility in the fight against inflation.
Calls for rate de -escalation
The American central bankers expect, to various degrees, to see inflation bouncing in the United States due to the customs duties set up by Mr. Trump since his return to power in January.
According to Mr. Powell, the PCE inflation index for May, which will be published on Friday, should show that prices increased by 2.3 % over a year in the United States. This would represent an acceleration compared to April (+2.1 %).
Officials of the Federal Reserve (Fed) all agreed to leave the guiding rates unchanged at the last meeting of the institution last week.
Several of them now seem to bend in favor of lowering the rates as soon as possible.
“I don’t think we should wait much more,” Governor Christopher Waller said on Friday.
“If inflation pressure remains contained” by the next Fed meeting on July 29 and 30, “I will support a reduction in guiding rates,” said Michelle Bowman, vice-president of the American central bank on Monday.
Mr. Waller is considered a potential candidate for the succession of Mr. Powell. He had become governor of the Fed under the first term of Mr. Trump, on the initiative of the latter.
The American president recently propelled Mme Bowman at his post as vice-president responsible for regulation, with a view to letting go of the bridle to financial actors.
Within the Fed Monetary Policy Committee, which has twelve members, Mr. Powell does not seem the only one to prefer to wait to see more clearly before moving the rates.
“Monetary policy is well placed to allow us to wait and see how economic conditions are evolving,” Governor Michael Barr said on Tuesday during an event organized in Nebraska (center).
