Trump Demands US Interest Rates Stay Low Ahead of Fed Meeting

President Donald Trump has called on the Federal Reserve to keep US interest rates low, stating that no country should have lower interest rates than the United States. Speaking at the Irish Open golf tournament in Doonbeg, Ireland, on September 13, Trump said he didn't know whether Fed policymakers would raise interest rates at their upcoming meeting but argued that the US 'should be paying the lowest interest rate in the world'. This comes just days before the Fed's next policy meeting and a key measure of underlying inflation, the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index, posted its largest increase in four months on Friday.

The central bank's governors are meeting less than a week after the CPI data was released, which reinforced expectations that the US central bank will raise rates. A rate hike could add to voter concerns about affordability, according to recent Reuters/Ipsos polls. Trump has been critical of Fed interest rate levels, saying they have helped other countries at the expense of the US.