We keep trying to tell everyone that the US economy is enjoying a period of unusual strength, maybe now people will believe us. Non-farm payroll employment increased by 257,000 in January and the gains in the preceding two months were revised up by a cumulative 147,000. Alongside the pick-up in average hourly earnings, which increased by as much as 0.5% m/m last month, that suggests the Fed should abandon its "patience" language in March and start raising its policy rate in June.
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