The US Federal Reserve, leaning back against pressure from President Donald Trump to slash interest rates, is expected to leave borrowing costs unchanged as it maintains a patient monetary policy stance amid strong economic growth.

Trump, who has accused the US central bank of undercutting his efforts to boost economic growth, said on Twitter the Fed should cut its key overnight lending rate by a full percentage point and renew the quantitative easing programme that saw it pump trillions of dollars into the economy in response to the 2007-09 financial crisis.

Fed officials were in the middle of their latest two-day policy meeting when Trump made his comments. The unorthodox advice – more in line with what economists on the far left of the political spectrum might advocate – is likely to go unheeded by a central bank that views its current target interest rate as roughly where it should be to keep the growing US economy on an even keel.

The US government reported last week the economy grew at an annualised pace of 3.2 per cent in the first three months of the year, surprising Fed officials who had expected the data to signal a slowdown.

US employers added 200,000 jobs in March, evidence of continued strength in the labour market and a sign as well that the Fed’s four rate hikes in 2018 had not constrained the economy.

With no clear reason to cut or raise rates at this point, the focus will be on whether the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee provides any new signal about its likely plans, said Cornerstone Macro analyst Roberto Perli.

“There will probably be discussions at this meeting as to what the threshold should be for bringing rates down,” Perli wrote in a note. “But given the diversity of opinions and the lack of a clear need for an imminent decision, it seems unlikely that the (FOMC) will agree to something specific now and be able to send a clear signal.”

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