(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared to suggest he knew more about interest rates than Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and that rates should be cut. "Mortgage rates are actually down slightly even though I have a guy in the Fed that I'm not a huge fan of," Trump said at a White House event.

A war of words over inflation and tariffs won't magically make interest rates tumble in the weeks ahead. And that's true even after President Donald Trump turned to his trademark name-calling by dubbing the Federal Reserve chairman a "major loser.

Powell, appointed as Fed chair by Trump during his first term, fell out of favor with the president after stating he would wait for more clarity on the effects of the administration's broad tariffs before adjusting interest rates.