Trump believes interest rates are needlessly high and has skirted traditional norms on central bank independence to sharply criticize Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the institution for not slashing borrowing costs, accusing them of damaging the economy. The Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 0.9 percent on the month in July, the U.S.

Wall Street's main indexes were on track to open lower on Thursday, after a hotter-than-expected producer prices report dampened investor expectations of potential interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year.

The July inflation report keeps an interest-rate cut firmly on the table after the Federal Reserve’s meeting next month. The lack o