Fed will keep your interest rates despite Donald Trump’s request

The head of the United States Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powellannounced that the country will maintain interest rates in a range of 4.25% to 4.50%, a measure that reflects its cautious and flexible approach to economic risks.

The decision contrasts with the statements of President Donald Trump during his speech at the 2025 World Economic Forum. “I will demand that interest rates fall immediately,” he said.

His argument is that high rates had triggered the deficit and caused what he described as an economic calamity under the mandate of his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Monetary policy

According to Powell, the US economy It is still strong, and inflation has dropped, but not enough to relax monetary policy. “We know that reducing political restriction too quickly could prevent progress in the inflation. At the same time, reducing political restriction too slowly or too little could undoubtedly go crazy economic activity and employment, ”he explained.

Likewise, the Fed head scored that the long -term inflation target of 2% will be maintained and that the objectives for monetary policy are: maximum employment and stable prices.

Not predictable

During the press conference, Powell said he would be inappropriate for him to comment on the president’s statements. However, he emphasized the Federal Reserve Independenceensuring that the Central Bank is still focused on its mission. “We will continue doing our job, as we have always done,” he said.

Regarding policies related to a possible second Trump administration and its impact, Powell said that concrete progress has yet been observed in areas such as tariffs, immigration, fiscal policy or regulatory policy. Therefore, you can not even start making a plausible analysis of what the implications for the economy will be.

“I think we must wait for these policies to be articulated before we can even start making a plausible analysis of what the implications for the economy will be,” he concluded.

Jerome Powell: “Let’s wait and see”

The gold remained close to its maximum historical levels, Bloomberg reported, after investors sought refuge in low -risk assets. This movement occurred after Donald Trump confirmed the imposition of 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, effective as of February 1.

Impact in Peru

Regarding Trump’s warnings about higher tariffs for those who do not manufacture in the United States, Edmundo Lizarzaburu, professor and researcher at the Esan University, considered that Peru could be affected, but also saw an opportunity in this situation.

“The important thing is that this alert signal, more than a threat, is to see the opportunity. The opportunity what it is: add value,” he said.

Instead of exporting raw materials, Lizarzaburu proposed that Peru should focus on exporting products with greater added value, such as cathodes instead of copper or jewelry instead of gold bullion. “Do not export copper, but cathodes, not export gold bullion, but probably jewelry. Then we finally have a differentiator,” he explained.

As for the challenges, Lizarzaburu mentioned migratory issues and their impact on the economy. Since 2022, Peru has received repatriated flights from the United States, which has generated concern in some sectors. However, he clarified that these deportations have focused mainly on people with criminal records. “They are probably mainly deporting what are thieves, gangs and people who have a negative effect on the economy of the United States,” he said.

Despite this, Lizarzaburu stressed that remittances sent by Peruvians abroad have not decreased, suggesting that the economic impact of these deportations could be less than expected. “If one analyzes the tendency of remittances that Peru has been receiving from abroad, it has not fallen despite the fact that according to the statistics of 2022 they have returned more than 200,000 Peruvians,” he said.