Trump says he plans to keep criticizing Fed over rates

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he has no intention of ending his public attacks on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policies even though he knows he has made Chairman Jerome Powell’s job more difficult.

Trump tells ABC News that he thinks economic growth and stock market indexes would be substantially higher if the chairman “wouldn’t have raised interest rates so much.” The Fed raised rates four times last year. But Powell has signalled that the Fed is prepared to cut rates should it decide that Trump’s trade war with China threatened the economic expansion.

The Fed has long sought to operate free of political influence to maintain credibility as the world’s leading central bank. Powell, whom Trump elevated to chairman, has said before that he wouldn’t resign despite pressure from Trump.

Martin Crutsinger, The Associated Press