U.S. February jobs data likely final hurdle to Fed rate hike

This week's employment data from the United States will receive plenty of attention after Fed Chair Janet Yellen last Friday reiterated the message that a Fed hike was coming, so long as inflation and employment continued to make progress.

The US labour market is scheduled to release this week the ADP private employment report on Wednesday, weekly jobless claims on Thursday and the government's latest monthly payrolls on Friday. February's jobs data will be in focus and many see it as the final hurdle to an increase.

The Federal Open Market Committee starts its next two-day policy meeting on March 14. Fed's Neel Kashkari is slated to speak today after most of the central bank's top officials last week signalled the time has come to lift rates. Yellen also cemented those bets with her comments on Friday.

Yellen's comments triggered a US bond reversal into Friday's close, ahead of this week’s Non-Farm Payrolls. Market are now priced at 96 percent for March and are now more aggressive for the rest of the year, moving closer in line with the 'dot plot' indication of three hikes.