Tag Archives: Federal Reserve

U.S. jobless claims near 44-year-low as labor market tightens

Legal firm Hogan Lovells representative Nina LeClair (2nd R) talks to U.S. military veteran applicants (L) at a hiring fair for veteran job seekers and military spouses at the Verizon Center in Washington April 9, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to near a 44-year-low last week, pointing to further tightening of the labor market even as economic growth appears to have remained moderate in the first quarter.

The stronger labor market combined with rising inflation could push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 223,000 for the week ended Feb. 25, the lowest level since March 1973, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 fewer applications received than previously reported.

It was the 104th straight week that claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market. That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labor market was much smaller. It is now at or close to full employment, with an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new claims for unemployment benefits dipping to 243,000 in the latest week. Financial markets are already pricing in a rate hike at the Fed’s March 14-15 policy meeting.

U.S. stock index futures rose after the data on Thursday. The U.S. dollar <.DXY> also firmed against a basket of currencies, while prices for U.S. government debt fell.

A survey from the U.S. central bank on Wednesday showed the labor market remained tight in early 2017, with some of the Fed’s districts reporting “widening” labor shortages.

The government reported on Wednesday that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index jumped 1.9 percent in the 12 months through January, the biggest gain since October 2012. The PCE price index increased 1.6 percent in December.

The core PCE, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, increased 1.7 percent, still below its 2 percent target.

TEPID GROWTH

A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week’s claims data. Only claims for Oklahoma were estimated.

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 6,250 to 234,250 last week, the lowest reading since April 1973.

Data this week showed tepid growth in consumer spending in January, weak equipment and construction spending, and a wider goods trade deficit, suggesting the economy struggled to gain momentum early in the first quarter after slowing in the final three months of 2016.

The Atlanta Fed is forecasting first-quarter gross domestic product rising at a 1.8 percent annualized rate. The economy grew at a 1.9 percent pace in the fourth quarter.

Thursday’s claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased 3,000 to 2.07 million in the week ended Feb. 18. The four-week average of the so-called continuing claims edged up 750 to 2.07 million.

The continuing claims data covered the survey week for February’s unemployment rate. The four-week moving average of claims fell 21,500 between the January and February survey periods, suggesting an improvement in the jobless rate.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)

U.S. short-term bond yields, dollar gain on Fed rate hike

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as a television screen displays coverage of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen shortly after the announcement that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike interest rates, in New York, U.S.,

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Yields on shorter-dated Treasuries hit their highest in more than five years on Wednesday while the dollar rallied after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates as expected and signaled a faster pace of hikes in 2017.

U.S. stocks fell in choppy action, but were off their lows, following the statement from the Fed, which raised the target federal funds rate 25 basis points to between 0.50 percent and 0.75 percent.

Central bank policymakers also shifted their outlook to one of slightly faster growth, with President-elect Donald Trump planning a simultaneous round of tax cuts and increased spending on infrastructure.

“It was largely as expected, but it’s pretty clear the market is taking it as a bit more aggressive or hawkish than it had thought,” said Ed Keon, portfolio manager and managing director at QMA, the multi-asset manager wholly-owned by Prudential Financial in Newark.

Yields on two-year Treasury notes rose to their highest since August 2009, while three-year yields hit their highest since May 2010 and five-year yields rose to their highest since May 2011.

U.S. two-year notes fell 4/32 in price to yield 1.247 percent.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last up 1 percent at 102.11. The index had been trading lower while bond yields were also mostly lower before the Fed statement.

In the U.S. stock market, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 41.96 points, or 0.21 percent, to 19,869.25, the S&amp;P 500 lost 7.7 points, or 0.33895 percent, to 2,264.02 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.33 points, or 0.01 percent, to 5,463.49.

MSCI’s all-country world stock index was down 1.1 percent, adding to earlier losses. The pan-European STOXX 600 share index ended down 0.5 percent.

Gold turned lower and tapped the lowest in more than 10 months following the Fed statement, while oil prices fell as the dollar gained.

Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,154.62 an ounce.

Brent crude futures settled at $53.90 per barrel, down $1.82, or 3.27 percent. U.S. crude ended the session down $1.94, or 3.66 percent at $51.04 per barrel.

(Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Nick Zieminski)

Wall Street falls after Fed raises rates; energy weighs

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S.

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks fell in volatile trading on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point and signaled hikes could come next year at a faster pace than some expected.

The Fed’s decision comes as President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in next month, is seen cutting taxes and increasing spending on infrastructure. Central bank policymakers shifted their outlook to one of slightly faster growth and lower unemployment.

“The Fed ramped up the pace of rate hikes on a hope and a prayer of faster growth in 2017,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

“Until Trump’s tax and spending plan actually gets implemented, it’s hard to justify the slight increase in the slope of rate hikes.”

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 27.9 points, or 0.14 percent, to 19,883.31, the S&P 500 lost 6.02 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,265.7 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.17 points, or 0.13 percent, to 5,456.66.

Since the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election, stocks have risen on bets that Trump will enact business-friendly policies and stimulate the economy. However, some market participants are concerned that equities are pricing in a very favorable scenario, leaving them vulnerable.

Markets had all but priced in a rate increase at the Fed but the faster pace of increases seen next year may give traders an excuse to cash in the recent gains.

“I’m beginning to think the market might be looking for an excuse to take some profits,” said David Schiegoleit, managing director at U.S. Bank Private Client Reserve in Los Angeles.

“We’ve had such a strong run here for the past couple of weeks that any excuse to take some money off the board might hold a little bit more water than usual. That could be what we see here and heading into the close.”

Oil prices fell more than 3 percent on renewed concerns about an oil glut sparked by rising U.S. crude inventories in storage.

Oil major Exxon declined 1.6 percent and was among the largest drags on the Dow.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.47-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.29-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 30 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 102 new highs and 38 new lows.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Wall Street treads water as investors await Fed decision

A trader wears a hat referencing the proximity of Dow Jones Industrial Average to 20,000 as he works on floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shortly before the close of trading in New York, U.S.

By Tanya Agrawal

(Reuters) – Wall Street opened little changed on Wednesday, a day after all three major indexes hit record highs, as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting.

The Fed is widely tipped to lift rates 25 basis points to 0.50-0.75 percent. The announcement is due at 2 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), followed by Chair Janet Yellen’s news conference 30 minutes later.

Market participants will be paying close attention to Yellen’s tone and new forecasts, seeking clues on policymakers’ thinking on how President-elect Donald Trump’s policies will impact growth and inflation.

However, concerns over a strengthening dollar linger with the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, hitting 14-year peaks last month.

“Markets are acting like a zombie today ahead of the Fed decision,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets.

“It is not that they are not expecting a rate hike from the Fed, it is the element of the unknown which Yellen would deliver in her statement.”

At 9:37 a.m. ET the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.26 points, or 0 percent, at 19,911.47, the S&P 500 was up 0.47 points, or 0.020689 percent, at 2,272.19 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 7.65 points, or 0.14 percent, at 5,471.48.

Six of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the financial index’s 0.91 percent fall leading the decliners.

Wells Fargo fell 2.5 percent to $54.43 after the bank’s “living will” failed U.S. regulators’ assessment for a second time this year.

Oil prices fell about 2 percent as glut worries resurfaced after a reported rise in U.S. crude inventories.

U.S. stocks hit new all-time highs on Tuesday and the Dow Jones industrial average ended fewer than 100 points away from the 20,000 mark as a post-election rally showed no signs of fatigue.

The Dow has climbed about 9 percent since the Nov. 8 election, with gains fueled by expectations that Trump will reduce taxes and regulation and stimulate the economy.

“I don’t think the Dow is an indicator of anything because it’s such a small sample and the way in which the index is constructed,” said Patrick Kaser, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global.

“But that said, right now we’ve been in a month of bullishness and optimism and so the mood will swing to skepticism as we wait for actual policies to come out.”

Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales barely rose in November as households cut back on purchases of motor vehicles. The Commerce Department said retail sales edged up 0.1 percent. Economists had forecast overall retail sales increasing 0.3 percent.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand increased 0.4 percent last month, the largest gain since June, after being unchanged in October.

General Motors fell 2.5 percent to $36.40 and Ford declined 1.3 percent to $12.59 following a report that China will soon slap a penalty on an unnamed U.S. automaker for monopolistic behavior.

Hertz Global dropped 1.4 percent to $24.80 after the car rental company said on Tuesday it would replace its chief executive and reduce its board size.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,445 to 1,133. On the Nasdaq, 1,227 issues fell and 1,028 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed six new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 26 new highs and six new lows.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Dollar steadies as pre-Fed nerves dominate

Bank notes of Euro, Hong Kong dollar, U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, GB pound and Chinese yuan are seen in this picture

y Patrick Graham

LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar steadied against the yen and euro on Tuesday after its weakest day in a week, with markets still uneasy that a Federal Reserve meeting ending on Wednesday may provoke more investors to cash in the greenback’s recent gains.

Barclays was the latest major bank to cast some doubt on a dollar rally extending into a first quarter set to be dominated by the first policy initiatives from the Trump administration.

While investors have bet on the new president taking steps to bolster growth that will push inflation higher, there are also concerns that he may spark protectionism globally, driving cash into traditional safe havens like the yen.

A rise in Fed interest rates on Wednesday, a big reason for the dollar index’s 7 percent rise since September, looks fully priced in and there are also doubts over whether the U.S. central bank will want to send a strong signal that more tightening is to follow.

“We think the meeting may be a catalyst for people to take some profit on long dollar positions,” Barclays analyst Hamish Pepper said.

“The dollar tends not to perform particularly well in December. If you put that together with a well priced Fed meeting plus already long positioning, it is the right set-up for a pullback.”

The yen strengthened to less than 115 yen per dollar in Asian trade before settling at 115.34, down 0.2 percent on the day but almost a full yen stronger than 24 hours previously.

It has borne the brunt of the dollar’s rally in the past month, down 13 percent since early October. But some traders and analysts have begun to wonder if the Japanese currency might benefit next year if global political risks grow.

Barclays forecasts the dollar weakening to 100 yen in a year’s time.

The euro was little changed at $1.0629 having gained 0.7 percent on Monday as German bund yields rose amid signs Italy will bail out Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena if need be.

Sterling inched higher helped by higher than expected inflation for November and comments from finance minister Philip Hammond backing a transition period to smooth the process of leaving the European Union.

“Rates markets are discounting close to five 25 basis point Fed rate hikes by the end of 2018,” analysts from BNP Paribas said in a note to clients.

“With the Fed likely to be cautious in its forward-looking language on Wednesday, those positioned long dollars heading into the meeting may be concluding that risk-reward is not attractive for staying in positions into the event risk.”

(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Yellen says Fed could raise interest rates ‘relatively soon’

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks at "The Elusive 'Great' Recovery: Causes and Implications for Future Business Cycle Dynamics" conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.,

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve could raise U.S. interest rates “relatively soon” if economic data keeps pointing to an improving labor market and rising inflation, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Thursday in a clear hint the U.S. central bank could hike next month.

Yellen said Fed policymakers at their meeting earlier in November judged that the case for a rate hike had strengthened.

“Such an increase could well become appropriate relatively soon,” Yellen said in prepared remarks that were her first public comments since the United States elected Republican Donald Trump to be the country’s next president.

Yellen, who was to deliver the remarks to Congress’s Joint Economic Committee at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, said the economy appeared on track to grow moderately, which would help bring about full employment and push inflation toward the Fed’s 2 percent target.

Lawmakers on the committee, which includes members of both the House and Senate, will have an opportunity to question Yellen after she speaks.

The Fed chair gave a generally upbeat assessment of an economy that continues to generate jobs at a pace adequate to absorb new employees and keep others engaged in work. Wage growth “has stepped up,” Yellen said. Consumer spending, critical as the major component of U.S. gross domestic product, “continued to post moderate gains,” and help economic growth rebound from a weak first half. She said she expects firming in global growth, for months now considered a primary risk given weakness in Europe and China.

Indeed the major question mark for the Fed may now be the actions of the president-elect. His cabinet and policies are still taking shape. But the proposals outlined in his campaign could change the Fed’s baseline outlook substantially if he follows through on plans to cut taxes, roll out hundreds of billions of dollars in new infrastructure spending, and rip up free trade agreements.

Yellen did not mention the election in her prepared remarks. Other Fed officials in recent days have said a major change in fiscal policy could force them to shift gears if, for example, inflation begins to accelerate. But they also said they need to wait and see what the new administration proposes and what gets approved by the Republican-controlled Congress.

As it stands, Yellen said the current federal funds rate of between 0.25 and 0.5 percent is boosting economic activity, and that the country has “a bit more room to run” before inflation becomes much of a concern.

Right now, she said, “the risk of falling behind the curve in the near future appears limited,” and warrants only a gradual increase in the federal funds rate.

But that could shift, particularly as the new administration takes shape.

“The appropriate path for the federal funds rate will change in response to changes to the outlook,” Yellen said.

(Reporting by Jason Lange and Howard Schneider; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

U.S. jobless claims rise to near three-month high

Job seeker

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – – The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose to near a three-month high last week, but remained below a level associated with a strong labor market.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 265,000 for the week ended Oct. 29, the highest level since early August, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were unrevised.

It was the 87th consecutive week that claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market.

That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labor market was much smaller.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast first-time applications for jobless benefits would be unchanged at 258,000 in the latest week.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates steady but said its monetary policy-setting committee “judges that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has continued to strengthen.”

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to increase its overnight benchmark interest rate in December, but the decision could depend on the outcome of the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.

The tightening of the race between Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump has rattled financial markets. The Fed raised borrowing costs last December for the first time in nearly a decade.

On Wednesday, the central bank offered a fairly upbeat assessment of the labor market, inflation and the broader economy.

A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week’s data and that no states had been estimated. There was a surge last week in the unadjusted claims for Kentucky, California and Missouri.

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, increased 4,750 to 257,750 last week.

The report has no bearing on October’s employment report, which is scheduled for release on Friday, as it falls outside the survey period. According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls likely increased 175,000 last month after rising 151,000 in September.

The unemployment rate is seen slipping one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.9 percent.

Thursday’s claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid declined 14,000 to 2.03 million in the week ended Oct. 22, the lowest reading since June 2000.

The four-week average of the so-called continuing claims fell 9,000 to 2.04 million. That was the lowest level since July 2000.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)

Feds can be ‘gentle’ in hiking rates, New York FED President says

William Dudley, President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, speaks at Brooklyn College in the Brooklyn borough of New York,

By Jonathan Spicer

ALBANY, N.Y. (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve can be “gentle” in removing monetary stimulus since U.S. inflation remains low and the economic expansion could last five or more years, one of the most influential Fed policymakers said on Wednesday.

“We’re at a point where the economic expansion has plenty of room to run,” said New York Fed President William Dudley, echoing Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s message last month after the central bank decided to leave interest rates unchanged at near a record low of 0.25-0.5 percent.

“Inflation is a little below our target, rather than above our target, so I think we can be quite gentle as we go in terms of gradually removing monetary policy accommodation,” said Dudley, a close ally of Yellen and a permanent voter on policy.

The U.S. central bank lifted rates in December for the first time in nearly a decade and has stood pat since, as market volatility and overseas events were seen to threaten the U.S. economy, which slowed in the first half of the year. Still, most Fed officials still expect to raise rates again before year end.

“I think this economic expansion can last a good while longer,” Dudley told a business council gathering, adding one reason the Fed has been patient in mulling a rate hike this year is that “slack,” or underutilized workers, remain in the U.S. labor market.

The Fed, he said, is aiming for a best-case scenario in which the economy grows at a “moderate rate over the next five to 10 years” while unemployment remains around 5 percent or a bit lower “and just have a very long-lived economic expansion.”

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Oil prices fall back from one year highs hit by OPEC deal concerns

A worker checks the valve of an oil pipe at an oil field owned by Russian state-owned oil producer Bashneft near the village of Nikolo-Berezovka, northwest of Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia

By Amanda Cooper

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil fell back from one-year highs on Tuesday, knocked by concerns that a production cut by the world’s largest exporters might not be enough to erode a two-year old global surplus of unwanted crude oil.

Oil prices jumped as much as 3 percent on Monday, after Russia and Saudi Arabia both said a deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC members like Russia in curbing crude output was possible.

December Brent crude oil futures were down 42 cents at $52.72 a barrel by 1100 GMT, below Monday’s one-year high at $53.73, but off an intraday low at $52.51, while U.S. futures were down 43 cents at $50.92 a barrel.

Global oil supply could fall into line more quickly with demand if OPEC and Russia agree to a steep enough cut in production, but it is unclear how rapidly this might happen, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday.

“The word I look at is ‘if’,” Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said. “OPEC’s compliance (track record) with its own limits is not good.

“What it all adds up to is an increased belief that a firm bottom has been established, but as the market moves higher the risk of self-defeat rises as it opens the door right open for the return of production growth among high-cost producers,” he said.

Igor Sechin, Russia’s most influential oil executive and the head of the Kremlin’s industry champion Rosneft, said his company will not cut or freeze oil production as part of a possible agreement with OPEC.

“Underlying scepticism that global oil producers will succeed in taking coordinated action to support prices is therefore alive and well,” PVM Oil Associates analyst Stephen Brennock said in a note.

“Meanwhile, of those that do see a chance of a genuine output deal, they still need convincing that the proposed cuts will go far enough to address the supply imbalance.”

Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients on Tuesday that despite a production cut becoming a “greater possibility”, markets were unlikely to rebalance in 2017.

“Higher production from Libya, Nigeria and Iraq are reducing the odds of such a deal rebalancing the oil market in 2017,” the U.S. bank said, and added that even if OPEC producers and Russia implemented strict cuts, higher prices would allow U.S. shale drillers to raise output.

Adding to the drag on oil, the dollar rallied to its highest in 11 weeks, lifted by rising expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise U.S. interest rates by the end of the year.

(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Louise Heavens, Greg Mahlich)

U.S. job growth slows, clouds case for Fed rate hike

People wait in line to enter the Nassau County Mega Job Fair at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. employment growth unexpectedly slowed for the third straight month in September and the jobless rate rose, which could make the Federal Reserve more cautious about raising interest rates.

Nonfarm payrolls rose 156,000, down from a gain of 167,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department said on Friday.

Although the employment report suggested the U.S. economy was still expanding, it was expected to further reduce the chance of a rate increase at the Fed’s November policy meeting. There is, however, a much higher likelihood of a hike at the U.S. central bank’s last meeting of the year in December.

“It’s strong enough that you’re not worried about the U.S. slipping” into an economic slump, said Michael Jones, an investment officer at RiverFront Investment Group in Richmond, Virginia. “But it’s not so strong that it precipitates immediate action from the Fed.”

U.S. stock futures moved sharply higher after the payrolls report, while the dollar pared gains against a basket of currencies. Prices for U.S. Treasuries rose.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said the economy needs to create less than 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with population growth. Average monthly job gains have been about 180,000 this year, which Yellen has described as “unsustainable.”

Economists polled by Reuters had expected employers to add 175,000 jobs last month. The government said 7,000 fewer jobs were created in August and July than had been previously reported.

The unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a percentage point to 5.0 percent in September. The increase was driven by Americans rejoining the labor force, which suggests slack remains in the job market.

Hourly wages for private sector workers rose 2.6 percent in September from the same month a year earlier, in line with economists’ expectations. The annual growth rate in hourly wages has shown signs of accelerating over the last year although it remains slower than before the 2007-2009 recession.

Friday’s employment report will be the last before the Fed’s Nov. 1-2 policy meeting. Investors see almost no chance of a rate increase at that meeting given how close it is to the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.

DIVIDED FED

Yellen said last month that the Fed will likely raise rates once this year, but prices on fed funds futures suggest just above even odds the increase will come in December.

Three Fed policymakers voted for a hike last month when the central bank kept rates steady. However, Friday’s data could boost the case of Fed policymakers who have vocally defended a go-slow approach to rate increases.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has accused the Fed of playing politics by holding rates low, a charge Yellen and other Fed policymakers have denied.

Trump has also made reversing job losses at U.S. factories a central campaign promise. Manufacturing employment fell by 13,000 jobs in September and the sector has shed jobs in three of the last five months.

At the same time, the job market on balance continues to firm, even if at a slower pace, which could be an asset for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. She has argued that Democratic President Barack Obama’s policies have helped the economy create millions of jobs.

The Fed lifted its benchmark overnight interest rate at the end of last year for the first time in nearly a decade, but has held it steady so far this year amid concerns over persistently low inflation.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Additional reporting by Samuel Forgione in New York; Editing by Paul Simao)