(Reuters) – Traders of short-term interest-rate futures on Friday now expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates just one time this year, backing away from earlier bets on two rate cuts starting in June, after government data showed the labor market remains strong and a closely-watched survey showed a jump in consumers’ inflation expectations.
The market-based probability of a June interest-rate cut dropped to barely above 50% after the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers showed households think inflation a year from now will be 4.3%, a full percentage point higher than they thought it would be last month, and an earlier report from the Labor Department showing the unemployment rate was 4% in January. Before the reports traders had seen about a 63% chance of a June rate cut.
(Reporting by Ann Saphir)
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