Trump reiterates that he wants the Fed to lower interest rates

President Trump said he wants interest rates to come down “a lot” and he expects the Federal Reserve to listen to him.

“I’d like to see them come down a lot and oil prices will come down,” Mr. Trump said Thursday after signing a flurry of executive orders. “And when oil prices come down, everything’s going to be cheaper for the American people, and actually for the world, but for the American people.”

“When the energy comes down, that’s going to knock out a lot of the inflation,” he said. “That’s going to automatically bring the interest rates down.”

In virtual remarks earlier Thursday to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Trump said he’ll “demand interest rates drop immediately.”

When asked by a reporter if he expected the Federal Reserve to listen to him, Mr. Trump said “yeah” and that he would meet with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell “at the right time.”

The president said he knows “interest rates much better than they do and I think I know it certainly much better than the one who’s primarily in charge of making that decision.”

The central bank is scheduled to make a decision on interest rates next week. The Fed is expected to maintain interest rates at the current level of between 4.25% and 4.5%.

During his first term, Mr. Trump frequently urged Mr. Powell in public, unsuccessfully, to lower rates.

The president said he is “guided” by the Federal Reserve, but if he disagrees, “I will let it be known.”