According to a report by Golden Ten, S&P Global Market Intelligence stated that next Friday's monthly US employment report (including non farm payroll data) will provide the latest clues about the strength of the labor market. Although the January data showed lower than expected job growth, it also showed a decrease in the unemployment rate from 4.1% to 4.0% and an increase in wage growth from 3.8% to 4.1%. Therefore, labor data is widely believed to support the Federal Reserve's shift towards slowing down interest rate cuts this year, "although more signs are needed to indicate how the economy has been since the presidential election.
