Fed likely to keep rates low despite better data, Brazil raises rates again

There were more signs on Wednesday that the US economy is recovering from the winter doldrums.

ADP reported that private employers added 191,000 workers to payrolls in March, the most in three months.

Another report on Wednesday showed that US factory orders rose 1.6 percent in February after having fallen 1.0 percent in January.

Despite the better economic data recently, Bloomberg reports that an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve remains far on the horizon.

More than two-thirds of the gauges on Janet Yellen’s labor-market dashboard are still showing worse readings than before the recession, reinforcing her belief that the economy will need “extraordinary support” from the Federal Reserve for “some time to come.”

Only two of the nine indicators flagged by the new Fed chair -- payroll growth and layoffs -- are back to where they were in the four years leading up to the last economic downturn. The seven others, including joblessness, underemployment and labor-force participation, have yet to return to their 2004-to-2007 averages.

However, while the Fed remains hesitant to tighten monetary policy, Brazil's central bank raised interest rates for the ninth straight time on Wednesday, pushing the Selic rate up 25 basis points to 11.0 percent, its highest in over two years.