Top economists say the Federal Reserve should withstand Trump's pressure and raise interest rates for the first time in more than three years. They support Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Walsh's view that central banks must focus on curbing inflation. Wall Street generally expects that Fed officials will reject Trump's appeal to keep borrowing costs low and will raise the benchmark federal funds rate by 25 basis points when the two-day interest rate meeting comes to an end on Wednesday. Relevant media commissioned the University of Chicago Booth School of Business to conduct research. Most of the top academic economists interviewed agreed with this market judgment: 50 out of 51 respondents believed that borrowing costs should be raised from the current range of 3.5%-3.75%. Although most economists support an interest rate hike of 25 basis points, 14% of respondents called for a one-time sharp 50 basis point increase. They are concerned that the conflict between Trump and Tehran will push up fuel prices or turn into a widespread inflation crisis.

Top economists say the Federal Reserve should withstand Trump's pressure and raise interest rates for the first time in more than three years. They support Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Walsh's view that central banks must focus on curbing inflation. Wall Street generally expects that Fed officials will reject Trump's appeal to keep borrowing costs low and will raise the benchmark federal funds rate by 25 basis points when the two-day interest rate meeting comes to an end on Wednesday. Relevant media commissioned the University of Chicago Booth School of Business to conduct research. Most of the top academic economists interviewed agreed with this market judgment: 50 out of 51 respondents believed that borrowing costs should be raised from the current range of 3.5%-3.75%. Although most economists support an interest rate hike of 25 basis points, 14% of respondents called for a one-time sharp 50 basis point increase. They are concerned that the conflict between Trump and Tehran will push up fuel prices or turn into a widespread inflation crisis.