The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 206,000 new jobs added in June, topping expectations for 190,000 jobs. Rabobank head of FX strategy Jane Foley joins Catalysts to discuss the print and what it means for the Federal Reserve's timeline to cut interest rates.

"We saw a significant downward revision to the last two months' worth of payrolls data, meaning that a month ago, when we were here staring at what we thought was a very, very strong payrolls report that month, well, actually, it wasn't as strong as we thought. And so, in addition to that downward revision, we also got a tick-up in the unemployment rate," Foley explains. The US unemployment rate rose from 4.0% to 4.1% month over month in June.

She adds that the labor market is cooling, reinforcing the idea that the Fed may begin cutting interest rates in September. Citi economists are also forecasting three rate cuts in the remainder of 2024 starting in September.

Foley is pricing in two rate cuts by the end of the year, the first in September and the second in December. While the jobs report is a good signal for the Fed, Foley notes that "there are still elements here with respect to inflation and particularly services sector inflation that policymakers are still going to be a little bit concerned about."

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This post was written by Melanie Riehl