The World Trade Organization said that it
expects volumes of traded goods to rise 1.2%
this year, its weakest pace since 2009.
In addition, surveys of purchasing firms
compiled by the data firm IHS Markit point
toward declines in manufacturing in South
Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia, all of them
export-reliant countries. The U.K. factory sector
has also remained in negative terrain for five
consecutive months, its longest stretch since the
financial crisis.
On Twitter, Trump kept up his steady attacks
on the Fed, which he has regularly criticized
for not reducing rates more aggressively. The
president in particular has argued that the
Fed’s rate hikes last year had elevated the
relative value of the dollar, which makes U.S.
goods more expensive overseas.
“As I predicted, Jay Powell and the Federal
Reserve have allowed the Dollar to get so strong,
especially relative to ALL other currencies,
that our manufacturers are being negatively
affected,” Trump tweeted. “Fed Rate too high.
They are their own worst enemies, they don’t
have a clue. Pathetic!”
Trump has previously insisted that the Fed slash
its benchmark rate to zero. Economists warn,
though, that this would risk raising alarm among
consumers and businesses that a recession
could be near. The Fed’s rate cuts have yet
to cause the dollar to weaken because other
central banks have also cut rates even lower.
The ISM report suggests that Trump’s tariffs, and
other nations’ retaliatory tariffs, have played
a far greater role than the Fed in dampening
manufacturing activity.