“Fed Won’t Raise Interest Rates This Year”

The Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates this year, contrary to the general consensus, said Jeff Gundlach, CEO and chief investment officer of DoubleLine.

The economic data will not support a rate hike, he said at the HighTower Apex conference in Chicago on Wednesday.

As for when the Fed actually will raise rates, he said watch for when the hourly earnings data starts to rise in the Department of Labor’s monthly employment report.

“When hourly earnings are rising, it’s a good signal the Fed will raise rates,” Gundlach said. “It’s one of the most important indicators. If it goes higher, I think the Fed will have a clearance to tighten, but we’re not there yet.”