Elon Musk says Fed silly to not have reduce rates of interest

(Reuters) – Billionaire Elon Musk said on Sunday the Federal Reserve needs to cut interest rates and that it was foolish for the U.S. central bank not to have done so already.

Musk’s comment, which was made in response to a post on the social media site X, followed a run of weak data last week that has sparked worries the Fed may have left interest rates elevated for too long, resulting in damage to the economy.

Policymakers left the Fed’s benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged in the 5.25%-5.50% range last week, but opened the door to a rate cut at their Sept. 17-18 meeting. Traders are betting a cut is almost certain to happen at that meeting.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the central bank could cut rates next month if the U.S. economy follows its expected path, putting the central bank near the end of more than a two-year battle against inflation but square in the middle of the nation’s presidential election campaign.

(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao)