Before the strong December jobs report was released, the odds were already low for an interest rate cut in the next Federal Reserve decision on January 29.

The U.S. job market again defied an anticipated slowdown, with firms adding more than a quarter of a million jobs in the last full month of Joe Biden’s presidency and leaving Federal Reserve policymakers to puzzle over the need for more interest rate cuts in a strong economy.

The US economy defied expectations in December, adding 256,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, surpassing economists forecast of 164,000 and Novembers revised 212,000 increase. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.