U.S. economy on the up and up?

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump’s top economic policymakers insisted that the robust growth marked in the AprilJune quarter will maintain its pace and that he respects the Federal Reserve’s independence from the White House despite his condemnation of the central bank for raising interest rates.

“We as an administration absolutely support the independence of the Fed, and the president has made it clear that this is the Fed’s decision,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News Sunday.

He said Trump’s critical statements “are really more just comments saying as interest rates are going up, it’s something that the president has a concern” about.

The Fed has raised rates twice this year in response to strong growth, low unemployment and a slight rise in inflation.

Trump has taken credit for that growth, and 10 days ago he criticized recent rate increases, warning they could slow the economy’s advance.

Criticism of interest rate hikes by the Fed, which is politically independent from the White House and administration, is something no president has expressed publicly in two decades.

“I don’t like all of this work we are putting into the economy, and then I see rates going up,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC.

The rate increases are intended to prevent the economy from overheating or inflation from accelerating too sharply.

But higher rates make borrowing for homes, autos and credit cards more expensive — an unpopular consequence for consumers.