Trump: “Jobs data beat expectations… rates should be lowered”

U.S. President Donald Trump again underscored the need for interest-rate cuts, citing domestic employment figures.

In a post on his social-media platform Truth Social on the 12th (local time), Trump said the “jobs data far exceeded expectations,” adding that “the U.S. should be paying much lower interest on borrowing (Treasuries).” He added, “We have once again become the strongest country in the world, and we should, unquestionably, be granted the lowest interest rates in history,” saying this “could save at least $1 trillion a year in interest costs.”

In fact, the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report released that day came in well above market expectations. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nonfarm payroll employment in January rose by 130,000 from the previous month. That is nearly double the market forecast of 66,000. Compared with the revised figure for December last year (48,000), it is higher by 82,000.