As Trump Attacks ‘Destructive’ Fed, Here's What the Charts Show

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates nine times during this expansion, with four hikes under current Chairman Jerome Powell. That’s drawn fire from President Donald Trump, who on Thursday tweeted that the central bank’s actions have been “unnecessary and destructive,” while his senior economic adviser has called for a cut.

Various measures of borrowing costs show the Fed’s moves have been passing through to businesses and consumers -- and activity in interest-sensitive sectors is either cooling or stable. Rate hikes haven’t brought growth to its knees, but they’re helping to gradually slow it from a robust 2018 pace of 3 percent.