Jerome H. Powell, whose term does not expire until May, has argued that the central bank can afford to be patient about cutting interest rates amid uncertainty about the economic outlook.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he would "love" if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell were to resign, and the president also said he wanted interest rates cut to 1%. KEY QUOTES "I'd love him to resign if he wanted to,

A fractured Fed gives the president more ammunition and further fuels the narrative that the Fed is too late in cutting rates.