Fed Cools Rate Hike Bets Amid Labor Market Slowdown

The Federal Reserve policymakers received new data on Friday that may give them reason to hold off on raising interest rates again. The Labor Department reported that US employers added just 29,000 jobs last month, which is less than the 90,000 economists had expected.

This news has led to a decrease in the probability of a rate hike at the Fed's October meeting, with interest-rate futures contracts now priced for less than a one-in-five chance. This is down from more than one-in-four previously.

The data also showed that the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2 per cent, from 4.1 per cent. The Fed raised short-term borrowing costs by a quarter of a percentage point last month to help get inflation back on track to 2 per cent.