The president of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, said Tuesday that he would not rule out a possible reduction of interest rates as soon as this month. The comments occur in the middle of a public pressure campaign by President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged Powell to reduce interest rates.
When asked Tuesday about a possible trimming of interest rates at the Fed meeting this month, Powell said: “He would not take any meeting from the table or put any on the table. It depends on how the data evolves.”
Speaking in a panel in the European forum of the Central Bank in Sinatra, Portugal, Powell, diverted a question of the moderator about the challenges raised by the criticisms of Trump’s spikes.
“I am very focused on simply doing my job,” Powell said, applauding. The Central Bank remains “100% focused on its double mandate to control inflation and deliver the maximum employment, added Powell.
The moderator then asked the president of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde if he would do something different if he were in Powell’s position.
“I speak for myself, but I speak for all my colleagues in this panel, which would do exactly the same as Jay Powell,” said Lagarde. “Exactly the same.”
Since Trump assumed the position, he criticized Powell on numerous occasions, despite a long -standing norm of political independence in the Central Bank. The FED is an independent government agency established by Congress.
In a social media post on Monday, Trump said Powell and other central bankers “should be ashamed of themselves.”
“We should pay 1% interest, or better!” Trump said, asking for a strong reduction in interest rates from a current level of between 4.25% and 4.5%.
The publication on social networks included an image of an apparent handwritten letter to Powell, which had Trump’s signature.
The president of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, testifies during the Hearing of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate entitled “The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress”, in Dirksen Building, June 25, 2025.
Tom Williams/AP
The Fed maintained its stable reference interest rate last month, continuing with a waiting and view approach adopted by the Central Bank in recent months, since it observes the possible effects of Trump’s tariff policy. Four meetings and six months have passed since the last time the Fed adjusted interest rates.
The Fed last month predicted two cutting -ary quarter rate cuts in the rest of 2025, carrying a prediction issued in March.
On Tuesday, Powell said that most members of the Fed policy formulation board support additional interest cuts this year. The Central Bank will hold four rates setting meetings in the rest of 2025, and the first will happen on July 29 and 30.
“Most of us believe it will be appropriate in the remaining four environments of the year to start reducing rates again,” Powell said.
