The US dollar is tumbling on Tuesday after President Donald Trump slammed the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates. Despite criticizing the US central bank on the 2016 campaign trail for keeping rates too low, the president believes that the Fed is not cooperating with his administration to spur growth. These remarks did not help the greenback as the currency suffered one of its biggest single-session losses of the year against a basket of currencies.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Reuters, Trump lambasted Fed Chair Jerome Powell, telling the newswire that he is not sure if he chose the right man for the job.
I donât have an accommodating Fed. Am I happy with my choice? Iâll let you know in four years. Iâll let you know in seven years. Iâm not thrilled with his raising of interest rates. No, Iâm not thrilled.
Although he believes in the central bank âdoing whatâs good for the country,â Trump contends that the Fed should be offering some assistance in the same way his predecessors received.
In the same interview, he accused China and the European Union (EU) of being currency manipulators, something that he contends is costing the US billions of dollars.
I think China is manipulating their currency, absolutely. And I think the euro is being manipulated also. And what they are doing is making up for the fact that they are now paying a lot for â hundreds of millions of dollars, and in some cases billions of dollars â into the United States Treasury â and so theyâre being accommodated and Iâm not, and Iâll still win.â
President Trumpâs comments came after it was reported that he further lamented on Powellâs performance as head of the Fed during a weekend appearance at a Republican fundraiser in the Hamptons. Three people who attended the event spoke to Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity stated that the president expressed doubts that he selected the right person for the job because his advisers suggested that Powell would be supportive of easy money policies.
The Fed Chair is scheduled to speak on Friday during the annual Jackson Hole retreat. Investors were initially expected to comb through his prepared remarks to find hints pertaining to interest rates. However, now it is widely anticipated if Powell will respond to the presidentâs complaints.
The buck could not find support from a booming stock market after the S&P 500 recorded an intraday record on Tuesday.
The EUR/USD currency pair surged 0.94% to 1.1592, from an opening of 1.1483, at 18:24 GMT on Tuesday. The USD/CNY stumbled 0.12% to 6.8499, from an opening of 6.8584.
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