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US President Asks Fed to Cut Interest Rates Immediately

US President Donald Trump asked the Federal Reserve (Fed), the US central bank, to immediately cut interest rates immediately, and demanded that interest rates follow the US worldwide.

"I will demand that rates go down immediately, and so will globally. Interest rates around the world must follow the standards set by the US," said Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Thursday (23/01) local time.

It should be noted that currently the Fed's benchmark interest rate is between 4.25% and 4.5%, after three cuts until the end of 2024. Meanwhile, the next adjustment to the cut is planned for June 2025 at the earliest.

Although Trump did not mention the Fed directly in his request, interest rate policy is made by the US Central Bank. Therefore, Trump's statement has increased tensions with Fed Chairman Jay Powell.

The reason is that Powell has always emphasized that there should be no political independence in the Fed's decisions during his tenure, especially in lowering interest rates.

Trump's order is certainly not easy, especially since the Fed has projected that this year's interest rate cuts will only occur twice. So, they will be more careful in cutting interest rates.

-# Image Source: Bloomberg