When Kevin Walsh was sworn in at the White House in May of this year, US President Donald Trump praised the chairman of the Federal Reserve he selected and encouraged him to be “fully autonomous.” “Just do what you want.” he said. The autonomy that Trump gave to Walsh will be tested this week; in the face of high inflation, the pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to curb prices is increasing. According to the consumer price report released last Friday, the so-called core inflation growth rate in August exceeded expectations, prompting futures market investors to expect the probability that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at the September 15-16 meeting to more than 85%. This threatens that Walsh will defy a president who has repeatedly urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates drastically. Trump also recently said that if the Federal Reserve does not relax its policies, he will escalate the trade war; he reiterated on Sunday the argument that US borrowing costs should be the lowest in the world. When asked if he expected the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at the upcoming meeting, Trump said, “I don't know.”

When Kevin Walsh was sworn in at the White House in May of this year, US President Donald Trump praised the chairman of the Federal Reserve he selected and encouraged him to be “fully autonomous.” “Just do what you want.” he said. The autonomy that Trump gave to Walsh will be tested this week; in the face of high inflation, the pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to curb prices is increasing. According to the consumer price report released last Friday, the so-called core inflation growth rate in August exceeded expectations, prompting futures market investors to expect the probability that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at the September 15-16 meeting to more than 85%. This threatens that Walsh will defy a president who has repeatedly urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates drastically. Trump also recently said that if the Federal Reserve does not relax its policies, he will escalate the trade war; he reiterated on Sunday the argument that US borrowing costs should be the lowest in the world. When asked if he expected the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at the upcoming meeting, Trump said, “I don't know.”