Mubasher: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday said that the US trade wars have made it more difficult for the central bank to set interest rates policies, without offering any clear hint about further rate cuts.

At the Fed’s annual symposium at Jackson Hole, Chairman Powell highlighted the growing signals of a global economic downturn, laying the uncertainty on US President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

While the US economic outlook remained favourable, risks remained on the horizon, Powell said, repeating his pledge that the Fed “will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion.”

However, the Fed chief did not give any clear guidance on whether the central bank will loosen its monetary policy in the coming months.

In response, President Trump who has relentlessly lashed out at Powell and the Fed for its policies, kept up his criticism on Twitter.

 “It is incredible that they can ‘speak’ without knowing or asking what I am doing, which will be announced shortly,” Trump said, pointing to “a very strong dollar and a very weak Fed.”

“My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell […] or Chairman Xi,” he added, referring to his Chinese counterpart.