Trump pushes Fed on rates after 162,000-job gain

U.S. President Donald Trump has renewed his demand for lower interest rates and threatened to halt trade with deficit countries after employers added 162,000 jobs in August. Summary U.S. payrolls rose by 162,000 in August, beating economists’ forecast of 56,000. Trump demanded lower rates and threatened to stop trade with countries running surpluses against the United States. Bitcoin reversed from $82,262 and fell below $80,000 after the employment report. Fed funds futures priced a 61% probability of a September rate increase after the data. US jobs growth has exceeded forecasts The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the economy to add about 56,000 jobs. August’s increase was also well above the average monthly gain of 31,000 recorded during the previous 12 months. The number of unemployed people changed little at 7 million, while the labor force participation rate edged up to 61.6%. Revisions strengthened the report further. The BLS raised June’s increase from 20,000 to 31,000 and changed July’s estimate from a loss of 23,000 j...