Trump renews attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Powell, accelerating US market slide

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump repeated his attacks Monday against the chair of the Federal Reserve demanding that the central bank lower its key interest rate to boost the financial system Related Articles One day before Pope Francis death Vice President Vance received an audience on Easter Sunday Hegseth had a second Signal chat where he shared details of Yemen strike New York Times reports Vance arrives in India for a -day visit that includes talks with Modi More Democratic lawmakers are visiting El Salvador on Abrego Garcia s behalf Hegseth Disclosed to Have Shared Attack Details in Second Signal Chat Trump called Powell a major loser and mentioned that vitality and grocery prices are substantially lower and there is virtually No Inflation Yet Trump commented the market could slow without rate cuts Gas prices have fallen for the past two months in part because oil costs have dropped on fears of slower increase but food prices jumped in January and March and overall inflation remains above the Fed s target Trump s comments drove the stock arena and the dollar lower as investors in the U S and overseas grow increasingly wary about the economic standing of the U S On Friday a top White House adviser stated the administration is studying whether it can fire Powell a move that would undermine the Fed s independence and likely send shock waves through global financial markets Markets which had already been heading sharply lower Monday tumbled further after Trump s post with the broad S P stock index down in early trading Trump s threats against Powell and his higher tariff policies have driven down the dollar and also pushed up the interest rate on -year Treasuries which ticked higher to Monday Those rates are the benchmark for mortgage rates meaning that borrowing costs to buy a house will likely stay elevated A drop in the dollar is unique when stock prices fall and Treasury yields rise because investors typically buy U S governing body bonds during sector turmoil Instead they appear to be avoiding U S markets generally Trump lashed out at Powell on Friday and revealed he could fire him if he longed though it would likely touch off a legal battle that could go to the Supreme Court Powell has noted the president doesn t have the authority to fire him and has also made clear he won t step down until his term ends in May