NFP: US Adds 227,000 New Jobs in November, Easing Tensions at the Fed Over Rate Cuts

Jay Powell and his clique of central bankers should be more laid back now that the US economy posted better-than-expected job numbers.

• America’s employers added more workers than expected in November, the latest nonfarm payrolls data USNFP showed. Posting a convincing rebound from the 12,000 new jobs in October, the US economy grew by 227,000 newly employed people last month. The figure comes as the final employment readout before the Federal Reserve meets one last time for the year on December 17-18. And, by the looks of it, Fed officials remain on track to cut interest rates.
• Economists were expecting 202,000 new joiners to the labor market while October’s job figure was upwardly revised to 36,000. The unemployment rate for the past month ticked up to 4.2% from October’s 4.1% rate. The rebound in job growth was largely expected after October’s growth was stifled by the immediate effect of hurricanes and labor strikes. With these now in the rearview, investors took a sigh of relief.
• Futures contracts tied to the major stock averages pressed higher ahead of Friday’s opening bell, looking to extend their record run from earlier in the week. Gold prices were largely unfazed by the jobs report with traders seeking risky bets. The US dollar gave up some of its early-session advance against the euro with the EUR/USD pair floating above $1.06 for the first time in about two weeks.