The Fed Should Ignore Trump and Raise Rates

Most economists, according to a Bloomberg poll, agree with investor expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates another notch on Wednesday. Just before the Fed’s two-day meeting began, on Tuesday, President Trump urged it to avoid making “yet another mistake” and to leave rates where they are.

The president’s meddlesome comments are unhelpful, because the central bank can’t afford to be seen as being swayed by tweets from the White House. Nonetheless the overriding factor should be the state of the economy. Whatever the president may think, if you stick to the fundamentals, another small rise in interest rates is warranted.