Donald Trump is preparing an announcement on the next Federal Reserve chair this week with governor Jay Powell said by administration officials to be the leading candidate in what remains an unpredictable process.

The US president teased the decision on Instagram on Friday, claiming that Americans were “anxiously” awaiting his announcement and that everybody would be “very impressed” with the nominee. “It will be a person who hopefully will do a fantastic job,” he said, speaking directly into the camera from the White House. 

Mr Trump has been deliberating between Mr Powell, the continuity candidate for the job alongside current chair Janet Yellen, and John Taylor, a Stanford economist who could radically shake up monetary policy. Mr Powell, who has served at the central bank since 2012, is a centrist who has strongly supported Ms Yellen’s cautious approach to interest rate rises as well as the gradual reduction of its $4.5tn asset holdings which began this month.