off-the-wire

Fed seen more likely to lift rates above 5% after strong jobs report

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Traders of futures tied to the Federal Reserve's policy rate saw an increasing chance Friday that the U.S. central bank is still two interest-rate increases away from ending its current round of rate hikes, after a government report showed January hiring was far strong than expected.

Fed funds futures fell after the U.S. Labor Department reported employers added more than half a million jobs last month, with prices now reflecting about an even chance that the Fed won't stop raising interest rates until they get them to the 5%-5.25% range. The current target range is 4.5%-4.75%. Before the report traders saw a pause at just under 5% as more than likely.

Reporting by Ann Saphir Editiing by Raissa Kasolowsky
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