Shorouk Express
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The value of the U.S. dollar sank to its lowest point in three years Monday after Donald Trump went on the offensive again, hitting out at the chair of the Federal Reserve.
In a post on Truth Social, the president claimed that the U.S. economy would slow unless Jerome Powell, who he referred to as “a major loser,” lowered interest rates immediately. He has previously called for lower rates and suggested that Powell should be fired.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against multiple other foreign currencies, fell to 97.92 by market close on Monday – the lowest level for the index since March 2022, according to FactSet.
The dollar has fallen significantly since Trump’s inauguration in January and appears to have been spurred on by his threats of sweeping tariffs, announced on his so-called “Liberation Day.”
Global markets responded again to Trump’s latest beef with the Federal Reserve, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumping by 1,221 points lower (3.1 percent). The S&P 500 dropped 3.3 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 3.6 percent.
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Tech firms pushed the major indexes down further. Stocks in Tesla and Nvidia lost 7 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Amazon and Meta Platforms both lost 4 percent.
“‘Preemptive Cuts’ in Interest Rates are being called for by many,” Trump ranted on Truth Social. “With Energy Costs way down, food prices (including Biden’s egg disaster!) substantially lower, and most other ‘things’ trending down, there is virtually No Inflation.
“With these costs trending so nicely downward, just what I predicted they would do, there can almost be no inflation, but there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW.
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“Europe has already ‘lowered’ seven times. Powell has always been ‘To Late,’ except when it came to the Election period when he lowered in order to help Sleepy Joe Biden, later Kamala, get elected. How did that work out?”
The president’s latest tirade comes as investors still speculate on the fallout from his tariff plans. Since April 2, when Trump announced the levies, the Dow Jones has fallen 9 percent, the S&P 500 is down by around 8 percent and the Nasdaq has lost nearly 10 percent.
Bloomberg reported Monday that Trump planned to meet with executives from Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s, as concerns about his tariffs continue to rattle major U.S. retailers.
The president’s baseline tariffs of 10 percent and import taxes of 145 percent on Chinese goods have created broader concerns about higher inflation and an economic slowdown, as well as uncertainty and increased fears of a recession.
