Donald Trump says end of Jerome Powell’s term as Fed chair ‘cannot come fast enough’
Donald Trump is awake. And he has strongly criticised monetary policy by the Federal Reserve, saying the end of Jerome Powell’s tenure as chair “cannot come fast enough”.
In a post on Truth Social, the social network he owns, Trump said that Powell had been too slow to cut interest rates – contrasting its hesistance because of perceived inflationary pressures with the European Central Bank (ECB).
The ECB is due to cut interest rates for the seventh time this year in order to prop up economic growth.
Powell enraged Trump last night by warning that the White House’s massive tariffs could raise inflation. That would make the Fed even more hesitant to cut interest rates.
Trump said:
The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, “Too Late” Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete “mess!” Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!
Key events
Christine Lagarde says the economic outlook is clouded by “exceptional uncertainty”
Christine Lagarde says the economic outlook is clouded by “exceptional uncertainty”, citing “new barriers to trade” amid Donald Trump’s trade war.
Consumers may hold back spending as they become more cautious, she says.
The economy is likely to have grown in the first quarter of the year, and manufacturing showed signs of stabilisation.
European Cental Bank president Christine Lagarde has started a press conference in Frankfurt.
She begins by reading the ECB’s earlier statement. We’ll be updating on her comments here.
BP chair Helge Lund only received 75.7% of votes in favour of his reappointment, according to provisional results from the company’s disrupted annual meeting.
That is an unusually low tally, suggesting signficant investor unease.
The euro has moved marginally lower against the US dollar after the European Central Bank cut interest rates.
One euro will buy $1.1342, down from about $1.136 just before the announcement.
Lower interest rates tend to be less attractive for investors.
The ECB’s governing council, which sets interest rates, said that inflation is falling as expected.
The annual inflation rate in the eurozone slowed to 2.2% in March 2025 from 2.3% in February. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, also fell to 2.4% in March, the lowest rate since October 2021. The ECB said:
The disinflation process is well on track. Inflation has continued to develop as staff expected, with both headline and core inflation declining in March.
ECB: Trade tensions risk slower growth
The European Central Bank has warned of slower growth because of trade tensions, after Donald Trump’s tariffs caused turmoil in the global economy.
In its statement announcing a seventh interest cut in a year, the ECB said:
The euro area economy has been building up some resilience against global shocks, but the outlook for growth has deteriorated owing to rising trade tensions. Increased uncertainty is likely to reduce confidence among households and firms, and the adverse and volatile market response to the trade tensions is likely to have a tightening impact on financing conditions. These factors may further weigh on the economic outlook for the euro area.
European Central Bank cuts main interest rate to 2.25%
The European Central Bank has cut interest rates for the seventh time in a year, as it hopes to support the already struggling European economy as the prospect of further damage from Donald Trump’s tariffs looms.
The ECB cut its main deposit rate by 0.25 percentage points from 2.5% to 2.25%, it said in an announcement on Thursday.
ECB president Christine Lagarde will hold a press conference to discuss the changes at 1:45pm BST.
Donald Trump’s attention this morning appeared to have been caught by the comparison with the European Central Bank (ECB).
The ECB is widely expected to cut interest rates, with the announcement now only minutes away, at 1:15pm BST. Anything else would be a real shock.
Here is a bit more info on why Donald Trump is angry with Jerome Powell.
Powell offered “a concerned message” last night in a speech in Chicago, according to Bob Savage, head of markets macro strategy at BNY Mellon, an investment bank. Powell said “that tariffs drive uncertainty on policy, increasing the risk of higher inflation and lower growth”.
Amanda Wilcox, an economist at UBS, another investment bank, summarised it for her clients:
Chair Powell clearly acknowledged the risks to the outlook from tariffs, noting that the “level of the tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated.” In the prepared remarks, he continued, “The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.”
“Our role is to make sure that this will be a one-time increase in prices and not something that turns into an ongoing inflation process,” he said.
Jillian Ambrose
Climate protesters are not the only BP shareholders disgruntled at the annual meeting today: its chair, Helge Lund, is expected to face a big vote against him, even after announcing he will resign.
The Guardian’s energy correspondent, Jillian Ambrose, has more:
BP is braced for an investor rebellion on Thursday as the oil company prepares to face its shareholders for the first time since abandoning its climate strategy.
Its chair, Helge Lund, is expected to be voted out of his job by disgruntled investors at the company’s annual general meeting, which is also likely to be marked by protest from climate campaigners and investors.
The shareholder meeting comes weeks after Lund, who presided over BP’s groundbreaking 2020 climate targets and the company’s subsequent retreat, promised to step down from the company by next year.
Despite his resignation, the chair will still face a shareholder vote on his role in which some of BP’s largest investors are expected to turn against him in protest over the company’s rapidly falling value in recent years.
You can read the full story here:
Climate protesters ejected from oil company BP’s annual meeting
Jillian Ambrose
At least five protesters have been “forcibly” removed from BP’s annual shareholder meeting in Sunbury-on-Thames, according to a spokesperson for the campaign group Fossil Free London.
The spokesperson said:
It was quite violent. We were very forcibly removed, despite owning shares and having a legal right to be there.
Members of Fossil Free London, Energy Embargo for Palestine and the Free West Papua Campaign gathered outside BP’s London HQ in St James’s Square last night ahead of the AGM.
The protesters held banners reading “stop fuelling genocide and climate breakdown” and chanting “shut down BP”.
In addition to BP’s retreat from its green energy targets the oil company has come under fire for its supply of energy to Israel throughout the war in Gaza, which the campaigners believe has fuelled the military activity in the area.
Robin Wells, director of Fossil Free London, said:
BP’s corporate greed kills millions through the fuelling of a genocide and through the climate breakdown that continues at pace. The writing is on the wall. BP doubling down on oil and gas is just part of the standard functioning of Big Oil. This will never change. It’s clearer than ever that is no place for oily, greed-driven corporations in the world we need to build. Shut BP down.
