"Lower the rate or I’ll stop trading": Trump pressures Fed after strong US jobs report

• Donald Trump calls for sharply lower interest rates despite stronger-than-expected US job creation.
• The US President threatens to reduce trade with countries running trade surpluses with the United States.
• Trump argues that the United States' economic and financial strength warrants some of the lowest borrowing costs in the world.

In a post on Truth Social, United States (US) President Donald Trump welcomed the creation of 162K jobs in August, a figure he described as significantly above expectations.

Despite the strength of the labor market, the US President renewed his calls for a significantly more accommodative monetary policy from the Federal Reserve (Fed). Trump argued that the United States’ stronger creditworthiness should translate into lower interest rates and said the country should have the lowest rates in the world.

Trump also stepped up the pressure by directly linking interest rates to his trade policy. “Lower the rate or I’ll stop trading with countries with which we have a deficit,” he said, threatening to reduce trade with partners running surpluses with the United States.

The US President presented this approach as an alternative to tariffs and called on the Fed Board, now led by what he described as its “great new leader,” to lower borrowing costs. The latest intervention adds to political pressure on the US central bank as investors assess the future path of interest rates in light of the latest employment data.