The US Federal Reserve again rejected President Donald Trump's calls to aggressively reduce the loan costs, keeping the key interest in 4.25% – 4.5% for the fifth consecutive meeting, notes FT. The central bank justified the decision through a «solid» labor market and an «still slightly high» inflation. Two of the members of the Federal Committee for the open market (FOMC), governors of Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, voted for a reduction of a quarter percentage point, first marking in 1993 when two governors expressed an opposite vote. The committee also warned that the pace of economic growth «SA tempered» in the first half of the year, signaling a possible opening to interest discounts at future meetings. The decision comes in a context of increasing tensions between the White House and the Central Bank. Trump has repeatedly demanded that the key interest be reduced to 1%, stating that the American economy is strong enough to support this level. Last week, the president paid an unusual visit to the FED headquarters, where he again insisted on the interest reduction and rebuked President Jerome Powell to exceed the costs of renovating a building. Also on Wednesday, the data published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis have shown that the US economy increased by an annualized 3% pace in the second quarter, after a contraction in the first three months of the year. However, economists warn that there are signs of loss of advancement, as consumers become more cautious due to tariffs and uncertainties in the labor market. Also, high interest rates visibly affect the real estate market. Joe Lavongna, an economic counselor of the secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, said in a event in Washington that «if we look at the interest sensitive sectors, they are declining.»
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