US job market softening in doubt; December NFP beats estimates

Summary: US non-farm payrolls up 256,000 in December, above expectations; previous two months’ figures revised down by 8,000; jobless rate ticks down to 4.1%, participation rate steady at 62.5%; Westpac: Dec quarter increase in payrolls exceeds Sep, June quarters; US Treasury yields rise; expectations of Fed rate cuts soften; ANZ: labour market weakness previously expected has not materialised; employed-to-population ratio rises to 60.0%; underutilisation rate falls to 7.5%; annual hourly...

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