
US central bankers last month dismissed the idea of taking interest rates into negative territory, something President Donald Trump has called for many times, according to meeting minutes released on Wednesday.

Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell urged Congress on Wednesday to take action on the rising US debt and deficit to ensure the continued growth of the American economy. Called before the Joint Economic Committee to discuss the economic outlook, the central bank chief stressed that it was not his role to give policy advice, before he gave diplomatically-worded policy advice.

The US central bank has cut interest rates again, hoping to shield the economy from the impact of trade wars and a global slowdown. The Federal Reserve lowered the target for its benchmark rate by a quarter-point, to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%. The move was the third cut in four months.

Former IMF chief Christine Lagarde said President Donald Trump's trade offensive against China could slash global economic growth and she critiqued his Twitter habits in an interview with US television program 60 Minutes.

The Federal Reserve has announced a new program to boost liquidity in the US financial plumbing and allow the central bank to better manage interest rates, but without changing monetary policy.

Trade policy uncertainty driven by the Trump administration's escalating dispute with China means hundreds of billions of dollars in lost U.S. output and as much as US$850 billion lost globally through early next year, research published this week by the Federal Reserve suggests.

United States President Donald Trump on Friday accused the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of inaction as the Euro slid in value against the dollar, something he said gave European countries a big trade advantage.

The following article was published 6 August, in the Wall Street Journal, signed by ex-Fed chiefs Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen. Basically, it states that the US economy functions best when the central bank is free of short-term political pressures.

World stock markets plunged on Monday as Beijing parried US President Donald Trump's latest tariff announcements by moving to let China's Yuan currency devalue and halting purchases of US agricultural products.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who last week cut U.S. interest rates as an insurance policy against the effects of simmering trade tensions, may need to buy more coverage after the United States late on Monday designated China a currency manipulator.