NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) – U.S. interest rate futures on Friday scaled back expectations for a rate hike by year-end and increased bets the Federal Reserve will stay on hold, after stronger-than-expected April job gains signaled continued resilience in the economy.
The market now expects just an 18% chance of an interest rate increase at the Fed policy meeting in December, according to the CME’s FedWatch. It was at roughly 23% late Thursday. At the same time, the chances of the Fed keeping rates steady rose to 74.1%, compared with 70.1% the day before.
This move followed a government report that showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 115,000 jobs last month after an upwardly revised 185,000 advance in March. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising by 62,000 jobs after a previously reported 178,000 rebound in March.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Comments