The stronger than expected 678,000 gain in non-farm payrolls in February and upward revisions to previous months gains is another sign that the real economy has considerable momentum, with the Omicron wave having had surprisingly little impact. That will give the Fed greater confidence to push ahead with its planned policy tightening but, with wage growth now levelling off, there is arguably less pressure for officials to front-load an aggressive series of rate hikes over the coming months.
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