WASHINGTON, June 20 — US President Donald Trump believes that he has the authority to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and demote him to be a board governor, but is not planning to do so presently, Bloomberg reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Trump is pressuring the Fed to reduce rates, saying in October that the central bank had "gone crazy” under Powell.

The Fed yesterday said it was ready to battle growing global and domestic economic risks with interest rate cuts beginning as early as next month. The central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for now. — Reuters