The US Federal Reserve appears likely to keep interest rates steady when it meets next week, despite pressure from President Donald Trump for a cut, leaving investors to focus on what chair Jay Powell says about the strength of world’s biggest economy.

The Fed is set to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, and investors are pricing in almost no chance of a reduction in rates from their current 4.25-4.5 per cent range. Markets expect two cuts by the end of this year, with September likely to be the earliest that rates resume their downward path. 

Investors are betting that Powell will continue not to be swayed by pressure from Trump, who on Thursday repeated his call for a full percentage point cut in rates, calling the Fed chair a “numbskull” and saying he “may have to force something”.