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Trump wishes the Fed would push down the dollar, but that’s not the Fed’s job

Sabri Ben-Achour Jun 28, 2019
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump wishes the Fed would push down the dollar, but that’s not the Fed’s job

Sabri Ben-Achour Jun 28, 2019
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

The president wants a weaker dollar, and he wants the Federal Reserve to help him get it by lowering interest rates. Trouble is, that’s not why the Fed lowers interest rates, and weakening (or strengthening) the greenback isn’t in the Fed’s job description. By law, the central bank is required to promote full employment and control inflation. Both of those can influence the exchange rate, and sometimes the exchange rate can influence them. But employment and inflation are the priorities.

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