The Federal Reserve should reduce interest rates even though the economy is strong and the latest payrolls report was positive, said Larry Kudlow, President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser.
“They should take back the interest rate hike,” Kudlow said in an interview on Bloomberg Television Friday.
“With a weak global economy, taking out an insurance policy is not a bad thing,” Kudlow said.
U.S. payrolls increased by 224,000 in June, topping all economist estimates. That led traders to scale back their more aggressive bets on Fed rate cuts this month, though a reduction is still expected by the market.
The Fed raised interest rates four times last year, with the last increase in December drawing especially heavy criticism from the Trump administration. Fed officials have shifted their outlook since then, and in June they opened the door to a rate cut.
“I’m not encroaching on Fed independence,” said Kudlow. “I’m reading the market tea leaves.”
Kudlow also said he is “very optimistic” about the health of the U.S. economy.
“We are still in a very strong prosperity cycle. ... We have very good pro-growth policies, low taxes, deregulation, opening energy, trade reform. I think the incentives of our supply-side policies are working,” Kudlow said.
Inflation is “way below the Fed’s target and what most people want and that’s the reason they should take back the interest rate hike,” Kudlow said.
“ I just don’t want anything to interfere with this strong prosperity cycle.”