Trump effect
The United States Federal Reserve held its interest rates on Wednesday and pointed out that there are higher risks that inflation and unemployment escape its objectives, in an apparent reference to the tariffs of President Donald Trump.
The president of the Federal Reserve Board of the United States, Jerome Powell, speaks during a press conference after the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC (Free Press Photo: AFP)
The leaders of the American central bank unanimously voted Maintain the reference rate between 4.25% and 4.50%, the Fed said in a statement.
“The uncertainty about economic perspectives increased again,” The agency added, which considers that the risks of seeing higher unemployment and higher inflation also “increased.”
Although an increase in imports weighed on GDP in the first quarter, “recent indicators suggest that economic activity continued to progress at a sustained pace.”
The Central Bank closed two days of meeting on Wednesday. Its managers let them know that they wanted to wait to evaluate the impact of President Trump’s decisions on the US economy rather than making a hurried decision.
The markets expected them to maintain their rates at the same levels that established in December, without changes.
From the last meeting of the Fed in March, Trump unleashed an economic earthquake with massive tariffs to imported products to the United States.
Since then, he made several concessions and flexibility, and promised agreements with the commercial partners of his country. None is not announced.
Exchanges with China suffer especially.
The weekend, Chinese and American responsible will meet in Switzerland to lay the foundations for a negotiation.
Official indicators in the United States remain at good levels: 4.2% unemployment in April and 2.3% inflation at 12 months in March, above but near the 2% objective of the Fed.
Meanwhile, the GDP of the first quarter contracted 0.3% in annual projection (the projection 12 months of maintaining the conditions at the time of measurement).