The consensus view that the US economy was healthy was further backed by Ian Kernohan, an economist at Royal London Asset Management who added he thought the Fed would hold off until Q2 before increasing interest rates until the policies of the new administration were fleshed out.
He said: “The latest payrolls report is in line with other evidence that the US economy continues to expand at a reasonably healthy rate.
“The Fed have signalled that they wish to continue with gradual interest rate rises, however given the uncertainty about the timing, size and composition of any fiscal stimulus, we expect them to hold off until they have greater detail on policy changes from the new administration.
“This suggests they will wait until the second quarter of 2017 before raising rates again.”
