(June 1): Federal Reserve officials are signaling they plan to keep interest rates steady in June while retaining the option to hike further in coming months, steering market expectations ahead of a key employment report.

Governor Philip Jefferson, a centrist who’s nominated to be vice chair and who often echoes Chair Jerome Powell’s views, said Wednesday that skipping an increase would give policymakers time to assess data but not preclude future tightening.

That view undercuts the importance of the monthly jobs report, due Friday, which has often been viewed by Wall Street as a key data point swaying policy. After Jefferson spoke, investor bets for a hike at the June 13-14 Federal Open Market Committee plunged to about 35% Wednesday from nearly 60% a day earlier.

“I definitely think this was a signal” and “likely completely in sync with Chair Powell’s views,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics. “Just the response of market pricing makes it clear that the message is getting through.”

The S&P 500 was little changed as of 10.27am New York time, following news the House passed debt-limit legislation forged by President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy that would avert a destabilizing US default.

The FOMC has raised rates by 5 percentage points in the past 14 months to curb inflation running more than double their 2% target. With their benchmark rate now in a 5% to 5.25% target range following a quarter-point increase in early May, Powell has said that policymakers could afford to watch the data and the evolving outlook.

The case for a suspension of hikes rests on the idea that monetary policy works with a time lag, so the impact of past rate hikes has yet to fully weigh on the economy and labour market. Moreover, recent bank failures have resulted in tighter financial conditions which will reduce credit availability by an uncertain amount, further hurting the outlook.

“Skipping a rate hike at a coming meeting would allow the committee to see more data before making decisions about the extent of additional policy firming,” Jefferson said.

At the Fed, the vice chair often speaks for the central bank. While Jefferson has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, economists took his comments as reflecting those of the Fed chair.

Jefferson’s remarks “seem like a campaign,” said Stephen Stanley, chief US economist at Santander US Capital Markets in New York. “He is taking to heart his new role as Powell’s wingman and vice chairman.”

The message was echoed Wednesday by Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, who also urged a June pause while stressing that officials could instead shift to moving at every other meeting if they need to keep tightening.