Trump Repeats Call for Fed to Cut, Citing Lower Rates Elsewhere

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump renewed his calls for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates Monday, once again pointing to other countries with lower borrowing costs.

"As usual, Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve are slow to act," Trump tweeted Monday. "Germany and others are pumping money into their economies. Other Central Banks are much more aggressive. The U.S. should have, for all of the right reasons, the lowest Rate."

Trump's renewed attack on the central bank follows a rare statement from Fed Chair Powell on Friday, which opened the door to a rate-cut by pledging to “act as appropriate” to support the U.S. economy as fears of the coronavirus spreading rattle markets and threaten global growth.

It wasn't clear from the post if Trump was referring to reports last week that German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is considering whether the government could provide fiscal stimulus by easing public debt limits.

On Thursday Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said policy makers were watching closely the spread of the coronavirus but didn't yet see the need for a monetary-policy response.

Trump on Saturday also called for the Fed to cut rates during a press conference called to discuss his administration's response to the outbreak.

Read More: Fed Ready to Cut Rates Despite Doubt They Can Offset Virus

It's unclear how much of a help interest rate cuts could be in fighting a public health emergency but pressure has mounted for central banks to act amid market turmoil.

To contact the reporter on this story: Margaret Collins in Washington at mcollins45@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Alister Bull

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