Chair Jerome Powell meets Trump: Fed

WASHINGTON

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell met Thursday with US President Donald Trump to discuss economic developments, including growth, employment, and inflation.

Powell "did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming economic information and what that means for the outlook," the Fed said in a statement after the meeting at the White House.

It said Powell indicated he and his colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) "will set monetary policy, as required by law, to support maximum employment and stable prices and will make those decisions based solely on careful, objective, and non-political analysis."

Trump has repeatedly demanded the Fed cut interest rates, citing moves by European central banks, and warned delays could stall the US economy.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the Fed's statement about the meeting was "correct".

"However, the president did say that he believes the Fed chair is making a mistake by not lowering interest rates, which is putting us at an economic disadvantage to China and other countries," Leavitt told reporters.