Jobs
Trader Bags $12 Million in Bold Trade Right Before Jobs Data
- Huge fed funds wager placed 15 minutes before numbers came out
- Hawkish block sale pays off as market prices in more Fed hikes
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Just minutes before the monthly jobs report was published on Friday, a trader placed a risky bet in federal funds futures that ended up paying off in a big way.
Profits on the position, a sale of the January 2024 contract betting on higher interest rates, were north of $12 million by 3 p.m. in New York, following the publication earlier in the day of strong jobs numbers and another report from the Institute for Supply Management that suggested services activity in the US re-accelerated last month. Both releases led investors to price in additional expected tightening from the Federal Reserve this year.