US President Donald Trump on Sunday criticised any move by the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates, but said he wants new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to make his own decisions.
“Kevin is fantastic, and I want him to do whatever he wants,” Trump said in an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press.
Warsh was sworn in last month.
“I don’t want to have a big influence on him. But we had a great (jobs) report. We’re doing great, and it’s unfair that whenever you do great, they want to raise interest rates,” he said.
The May US jobs report showed the labour market remained strong, with the economy adding 172,000 jobs and the unemployment rate holding steady. Under standard economic theory, if there is a danger of the economy overheating, and so threatening higher inflation, increasing interest rates is one way to prevent that.
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The May report was released as concerns intensified over oil and gas prices, which have climbed since the Iran war began.
“Nowadays when you have good reports, the market goes down because they think they’re going to raise interest rates,” Trump said during the interview.
