Trump’s criticism of the Fed unsettles equities
The dollar falls for the fourth consecutive day in its worst spell since March after the US president says he is ‘not thrilled’ with Federal Reserve’s rate increases
London — Critical comments by US President Donald Trump about the country’s central bank held back some stocks on Tuesday, while the dollar fell for the fourth consecutive day in its worst spell since March. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Trump said late on Monday he was "not thrilled" with the Federal Reserve under his own appointee, chairman Jerome Powell, for raising interest rates and said the Fed should do more to help him to boost the economy. American presidents have rarely criticised the Fed in recent decades because its independence has been seen as important for economic stability. "The Fed is independent in setting monetary policy and markets were spooked by yet another comment from Donald Trump criticising higher interest rates," said Artjom Hatsaturjants, an analyst at Accendo Markets.
The dollar index, which tracks performance against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.35% on Tuesday. It has now fallen 1.2% in the past four days, its worst such run...
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