Yellen Speech Contained Clue to Reading August Jobs Report
- Said moves depend on if data ‘continues to confirm’ outlook
- Economists estimate 180,000 job gains after two strong months
What Jobs Number Could Trigger a Fed Rate Hike?
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An overlooked line in Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s speech last week could hold the key to whether Friday’s U.S. jobs report clinches an interest-rate increase this month.
While the focus was on Yellen’s statement that the case for an interest-rate increase “has strengthened in recent months,” she followed with new language that the central bank’s decisions depend on the degree that data “continues to confirm” the outlook. That, and other recent remarks by Fed officials, suggest that job gains need to be merely solid -- rather than extraordinary -- to warrant raising borrowing costs for the first time in 2016.