International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde said Thursday she “would not associate” U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell “with craziness.”
“I would not associate Jay Powell with craziness. No, no, he comes across, and members of his board, as extremely serious, solid and certainly keen to base their decisions on actual information, and decide to communicate that properly,” she said, speaking to CNBC at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bali, Indonesia.
Lagarde made the comment in response to a question from CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore about U.S. President Donald Trump. The American leader knocked the Fed on Wednesday for continuing to raise interest rates despite some recent market turbulence.
“I think the Fed is making a mistake. They are so tight. I think the Fed has gone crazy,” the president said after walking off Air Force One in Erie, Pennsylvania for a rally.
Lagarde added: “All over the world, it is certainly a good principle to have independence of the central banks and of the central bank governors. Certainly we have advocated that in all countries, and I think that the Fed is no exception.”
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