Preston Stanley - Trump Calls for Lower Interest Rates

TAIPEI, Taiwan, November 23, 2018 (Newswire.com) - In an unusual move for a U.S. President, Donald Trump has criticized the Federal Reserve and its monetary policy, calling for lower interest rates.

This year so far, the Federal Reserve has lifted interest rates three times and is expected to announce another hike before the end of 2018. Many investors have blamed the Fed’s aggressive approach to interest rates for market turmoil which has recently caused significant losses in US stock markets.

But analysts at Preston Stanley say the Fed has, for the most part, been undeterred by the barrage of criticism and is expected to pursue a similarly aggressive policy next year when it will likely increase interest rates three times.

This is not the first time that Trump has publicly criticized the Federal Reserve. In October, after the Fed increased interest rates for the third time this year, Trump called the central bank his biggest threat, saying that it was raising interest rates too quickly.

While the Federal Reserve is intent on bringing the economy out of financial crisis mode and has tried to stabilize financial policy through steady, incremental hikes, Preston Stanley analysts believe the recent US stock market volatility may indicate that the Fed must revisit its plans for 2019.

Speculators are already reducing their bets as to how many interest rate hikes the Fed will implement next year. With growing economic uncertainty and trade war pressures weighing on global economic growth, Preston Stanley analysts say hasty interest rate hikes may damage US prospects for economic growth.

Source: Preston Stanley