President Donald Trump continued his attack Tuesday on the Federal Reserve, saying the central bank "loves watching our manufacturers struggle with their exports to the benefit of other parts of the world."
"Has anyone looked at what almost all other countries are doing to take advantage of the good old USA?" the president asked on Twitter. "Our Fed has been calling it wrong for too long!"
Trump has repeatedly criticized the Fed and its chairman, Jerome Powell, in recent months — particularly over the agency's recent interest rates.
The Fed lowered rates last month by a quarter of a percentage point, the first time since 2008, but Trump has argued the cuts should be higher.
He also has bashed the central bank for raising rates by a quarter point seven times in 2017 and 2018.
Trump's latest tweet follows a report Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond showing that manufacturing activity in five states and the District of Columbia remained stagnant, though improving slightly, in August.
The Richmond Fed's monthly Survey of Manufacturing Activity showed activity higher than in July, but not strong enough for a sector that is being affected by the continuing tariff war with China.
"Firms reported increasing capital expenditures and inventories, but the measure of local business conditions was slightly negative," the Richmond Fed said. "Manufacturers were, however, optimistic that conditions would improve in the next six months."
While wage growth continued, the Richmond Fed reported that companies had difficulty finding employees with the necessary skills for the jobs they had available.
"Many firms saw employment decline, while the average workweek increased in August," the Richmond Fed said in the survey.
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