"Trader" Expectations Slightly Change After NFP Data Is Released, This Is The Latest Finding!

<p>&nbsp;Early findings suggest the Federal Reserve is likely to raise its benchmark interest rate later this month to a range of 5.25%-5.5%, though expectations among market players set slightly lower chances for any further hikes after government reports showed more hiring slower than expected in June.</p><p><br /></p><p>Traders now see about a 20% chance of a rate hike in September and a 40% chance of a hike by November, after what is universally expected to be a quarter-point increase at the U.S. central bank's late-July meeting.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Prior to the Labor Department report, they had seen a near-equal chance that rates would reach the 5.5%-5.75% range by November.</p><p><br /></p><p>The NFP report showed employers hired 209,000 workers last month, which is "consistent with a steady and gradual slowdown in the labor market," said Karim Basta of III Capital Management. Although that will not be enough to prevent the Fed from raising rates in July, he continued.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Fed kept its policy rate steady last month, targeting a range of 5%-5.25%, but policymakers have signaled further rate hikes ahead given inflation that remains unsustainable and its slow progress toward the Fed's 2% goal amid markets solid labor.</p>