U.S. President Donald Trump’s disdain for higher interest rates won’t gain any sympathy from the Federal Reserve as the minutes from their Federal Open Market Committee session from Sept. 25-26 were released today, which showed Fed members indicating that more rate hikes are likely to come.
Last month, the Fed raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to its current level of 2.25, citing continued strength in the economy. As such, the path to higher rates would likely be sustained as long as the economic data continues to support growth.
“With regard to the outlook for monetary policy beyond this meeting, participants generally anticipated that further gradual increases in the target range for the federal funds rate would most likely be consistent with a sustained economic expansion, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near 2 percent over the medium term,” the minutes noted.
After the rate hike announcement, President Trump took time to denigrate the move during a political rally in Pennsylvania.
“I think … the Fed is making a mistake. They’re so tight. I think the Fed has gone crazy,” Trump said at the rally.