Donald Trump and US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell appeared together for a tense meeting on Thursday as the US president toured the central bank after ramping up his attacks on its management of the economy.

Trump – who wants to oust Powell for refusing to lower interest rates but likely lacks the legal authority to do so – has threatened to fire the Fed chief over cost overruns for a renovation of its Washington headquarters.

During a brief but awkward exchange in front of reporters during a tour of the building, the pair bickered over the price tag for the makeover, which Trump said was US$3.1 billion.

The actual cost of the facelift has been put at US$2.5 billion, and Powell was quick to correct the president, telling him: "I haven't heard that from anybody."

Trump produced a sheet of paper apparently listing construction costs and was told curtly that he was including work on the William McChesney Martin Jr Building, which was not part of the project.

"You're including the Martin renovation – you just added in a third building," Powell scolded.

Trump stuck to his guns, saying it was part of the overall redevelopment. Powell shot back: "No, it was built five years ago. We finished Martin five years ago... It's not new."

Trump moved on, but the tense atmosphere between the pair was almost palpable, with the Republican leader unaccustomed to being contradicted live on air.

The tour came with Trump desperate to shift the focus away from the crisis engulfing his administration over its decision to close the file on multi-millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on trafficking charges. (AFP)