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IPFS News Link • Federal Reserve

Federal Reserve hikes interest rates in defiance of Trump - and its chair tells president ...

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell said 'nothing' will deter independent central bankers from following their economic convictions – after an extraordinary pressure campaign by President Donald Trump failed to stave off a rate hike.

Powell got asked repeatedly Wednesday about Trump's extended public push to hold off on further rate increases – which the Fed's rate committee brushed past as it came out with a 0.25 per cent increase in the Fed's closely-watched lending rate.

And though he didn't go after Trump by name, Powell, who was nominated by the president, proclaimed his independence when asked about the pressure tactics by multiple reporters at a rare press conference.

'Political considerations play no role whatsoever in our discussions or our decisions about monetary policy,' Powell told reporters just minutes after the Fed announced its rate hike.