When I Say Hike, You Say December...
So now the question is … are these numbers good enough? If this doesn’t make the U.S. Fed happy, what will? Fed Chair Janet Yellen has stressed the importance of improved economic indicators before policy makers raise interest rates and has hinted that a raise is likely by the end of the year.
As you surely read by now, the U.S. employment report from the Labor Department showed non-farm payrolls rose by 271,000 in October. The key number was forecast to be up only around 185,000. The U.S. dollar index rallied sharply on the news, while the U.S. stock market saw a bit of selling pressure.
But yet, Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said today in an interview with CNBC that while the stronger-than-expected October employment report is "very good news," he's still not ready to say it's time for an interest-rate hike.
Financial markets are convinced, however. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, it shows that the market feels the odds of a December hike are high – jumping above 70%. Last week, they were less than half that.
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