No wonder Powell didn’t commit to extra hikes. Here are five reasons the January jobs report may be too good to be true.
Traders took heart that Fed Chair Jerome Powell, when he wasn’t being questioned by David Rubinstein on how he gets by on $190,000 per year, didn’t commit on Tuesday to having to be even more aggressive on interest rates given the huge 517,000 surge in nonfarm payrolls. Powell said rates would have to go even higher than the market currently expects “if we continue to get” strong labor market or higher inflation reports. Economists at Morgan Stanley point out that the January number reflects three factors it believes to be temporary: unusually warm weather, the resolution of California higher-education strikes and a very strong seasonal adjustment boost.