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Markets reacted negatively after President Donald Trump on Monday once again criticized the Federal Reserve.
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Analysts said investors are uncomfortable with the notion that the president could be working to pressure the central bank.
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Trump has removed heads of other independent agencies, and traders may be concerned that Fed Chair Jerome Powell could be next.
Markets are sending a message to President Donald Trump: Don’t mess with the Federal Reserve.
Investors fled U.S. assets again on Monday after Trump put more pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates—potentially threatening its ability to act independently of the president’s desires. The latest Trump criticisms are making investors even less confident about the U.S. dollar and the country’s dominant role in global financial markets, analysts say.
Markets had “already started to entertain notions of de-dollarization” following Trump’s tariff policies, according to Themistoklis Fiotakis, a top strategist at the British bank Barclays. Trump is adding fuel to the fire, Fiotakis wrote, bringing about risks to the dollar that are “too large to ignore.”
“The notion of the Fed independence being at risk … is an event that carries very significant tail risks not only for the dollar, but also for the global financial system,” Fiotakis wrote in a note to clients.
The concerns about Fed independence added to lingering concerns about the impact of tariffs on the economy, sparking a volatile session of trading on Monday. Major stock indexes fell more than 2%, U.S. Treasury securities sold off again, and the dollar hit its weakest level in three years.
The sell-off followed a Truth Social post on Monday from Trump calling Fed Chair Jerome Powell a “major loser” and saying that lower inflation figures call for rate cuts “NOW.” Last week, he wrote Powell’s termination “cannot come fast enough,” raising concerns that the president would seek to fire the central banker.
Financial markets are clearly uncomfortable with the politicization of the central bank, Thierry Wizman, global currency and rates strategist at the Australian financial services firm Macquarie, said in an interview.
“The market is okay with rates coming down. What the market is not okay with is having the president or politicians tell the Fed that the rates need to come down,” Wizman said.
Powell is no stranger to Trump’s attacks. Trump appointed Powell as Fed chairman during his first term as president, though he’d soon sour on Powell and criticize him publicly. In 2019, he questioned whether Powell was a bigger “enemy” for the United States than Chinese President Xi Jinping.
