The first year of Donald Trump's return to the US presidency has seen a notable decline in the value of the dollar and an increase in US debt interest rates, but by no means can it be considered an unprecedented fall. Despite Washington's threats to close US allies—such as Denmark—the trade war, military interventions in Venezuela and Iran, and attacks on the independence of the Federal Reserve (the Fed, the US central bank), the greenback has leveraged its dominant position as a safe-haven currency to maintain its strength.

Never before had a Federal Reserve chairman been forced to record a video to convey a dramatic message Addressed to the citizens of the United States, as Jerome Powell did early this morning. In a country and an international environment where almost everyone has chosen to bow to Donald Trump's wishes or, at least, try not to further enrage him, Powell has decided to confront him and tell the truth; that is, that the federal investigation opened against him for the alleged misuse of funds in some of the institution's construction projects is nothing more than a ploy to stop him from doing his job according to his technical expertise and instead simply obey the president's wishes.

Donald Trump appears to have started the year determined to carry out his threats. The Justice Department—which has become the tycoon's personal ministry for settling scores—has opened a criminal investigation against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The case comes after months of pressure from the US president against Powell for not bowing to his demands, further tightens the Republican's siege of the Fed, and represents another blow to the institution's independence. This Monday, after Powell made the situation public, three former Federal Reserve chairs closed ranks with him in the face of Trump's "unprecedented" attacks. Powell's surviving predecessors, Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke, and Alan Greenspan, signed a letter along with a dozen other economists to express their support for the Fed chairman. "The purported criminal investigation against Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell constitutes an unprecedented attempt to use fiscal attacks to undermine that independence." The text emphasizes that "this has no place in the United States, for whom the greatest strength is the rule of law, the foundation of our economic success."

The Federal Reserve (Fed, the US central bank) cut interest rates again on Wednesday, this time by a quarter of a percentage point. This marks the third consecutive rate cut, following those approved in September and in [year missing]. OctoberWhen it also reduced the cost of credit by 0.25 points on both occasions.

What makes a meeting in a valley in the state of Wyoming, in an idyllic setting, so important? What makes the markets so focused on this annual gathering organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City under the protection of the Rocky Mountains, which begins today, Thursday, and ends on Saturday? Interest during these August dates is always high, because this conclave is attended by central bank governors from the world's leading countries, along with finance ministers and business leaders. This is not surprising, because many pragmatic issues, such as whether mortgages will become more or less expensive and whether there will be more or less credit to invest in, depend on what is discussed at this meeting without ties and in a relaxed and discreet atmosphere, not only in the US but globally.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump He denied in a press conference that he planned to fire Jerome Powell., the chairman of the Federal Reserve (the Fed, the US central bank). That same morning, several media outlets such as Bloomberg and The New York Times They had published that Trump had a draft letter to send to Congress to oust Powell, which led to an immediate drop in the dollar on the foreign exchange market and put the US stock market in the red. Only with the president's denial, a few minutes after its publication, did the situation in the markets normalize.

The Federal Reserve (Fed, the United States central bank) is once again defying Donald Trump and keeping interest rates unchanged at 4.25% and 4.5%, despite pressure from the US president, who has threatened to demand a cut since taking office. The central bank has also updated its projections for the country's economy, now predicting only a 0.5 percentage point cut in interest rates by the end of the year, through two 0.25 percentage point cuts, the dates for which have yet to be set. The decision is justified by a forecast for the United States of lower economic growth, higher unemployment and higher inflation for the remainder of 2025.

The Federal Reserve (Fed, the United States central bank) warned this Wednesday that the tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump will cause inflation. Given this scenario and the growing "uncertainty" in the US economy, the monetary institution has once again left interest rates unchanged.