President Donald Trump demanded that the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and threatened to halt trade with countries where the United States runs deficits, escalating his pressure on the central bank after stronger-than-expected August employment data. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000, nearly triple the 55,000 consensus forecast, while the unemployment rate held at 4.1%. June and July payroll figures were revised higher by a combined 55,000. Trump argued that the United States' stronger credit standing justified lower borrowing costs and said the country should have the world's lowest interest rate. Trump urged the Fed Board and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to lower rates, calling high borrowing costs an unfair disadvantage for the United States. The comments were his most forceful intervention on monetary policy since Warsh took over in May. They came as investors increased expectations of a Fed rate hike later this month, with resilient employment, elevated inflation and the PCE price index remaining above the Fed's 2% target for 65 consecutive months complicating the policy outlook. The United States recorded an $88.6 billion goods and services trade deficit in July, up $17.4 billion from June, as $399.3 billion in imports exceeded $310.7 billion in exports. The country has maintained an overall trade deficit for decades and runs deficits with roughly half of its trading partners.