President Donald Trump has said the United States had entered a "golden age", pointing to lower oil prices, record investment and a strong labour market as evidence that the country's economy was gaining momentum. Speaking at the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, on Wednesday (local time), Trump said falling energy prices would benefit American consumers and businesses.
"The oil is dropping," Trump said. "I don't give a damn if they're happy or sad, I want the prices to go down. And the oil is dropping like nobody thought possible." He added that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had returned to record levels. "Those boats are coming out of the Hormuz Strait.
They're coming out by numbers that nobody ever saw. We're setting records actually." Trump argued that the United States was attracting unprecedented levels of investment. "We have more money being invested in the United States of America by other countries and people than ever before by many, many times over," he said.
The President also pointed to stock market gains and employment. "Look at the stock market, every day it's hitting a new high," Trump said. "We have more people working today than any time in the history of our country." He said the administration had inherited high inflation but argued that prices were now easing.
"We inherited a tremendous inflation problem from Biden," Trump said. "Those prices are all coming down." Summing up his assessment, Trump said: "This is just the beginning of the golden age of America." "And America is going to experience something that I can truly say, I believe the best is yet to come."
The remarks came during a speech primarily devoted to Theodore Roosevelt's legacy, but Trump repeatedly shifted to his administration's economic agenda, arguing that lower energy prices, increased investment and job creation reflected renewed confidence in the US economy.
The United States remains the world's largest economy and one of India's biggest trading partners. Developments in US growth, financial markets and energy prices are closely watched in India because they influence investment flows, global demand and the cost of imported crude oil, a key driver of India's inflation.